Four years ago, the state Legislature created the Senior SAFE program to support fire and safety education for older adults, those most at risk of dying in fires in our state.
The program, run through local fire departments, targets fire and burn risks for older adults — such as cooking, smoking, home oxygen use, electrical and heating dangers. It aims to improve the safety of older adult homes and may include the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, for example.
But it turns out the education does more than improve the safety of individuals who attend workshops or get the smoke detectors. Many of the state’s seniors are becoming valuable lifesavers for their neighbors — “golden heroes” as the State Fire Marshal’s Office likes to call them.
For example, one 72-year-old man from Swansea noticed smoke coming from the roof of his local community center, and quickly called in firefighters who were able to prevent much damage. And a 68-year-old Worcester woman helped to extinguish an oven fire in a neighbor’s kitchen and called 911 as she helped evacuate their building.
So, it turns out the know-how firefighters are bringing to individuals has a ripple effect that the Legislature may not have imagined when it created Senior SAFE.
And then there is 74-year-old Barbara Haydocy, a “golden hero” from New Salem who provided emergency medical help at a neighbor’s house — a feat for which she was honored by state and fire officials last week at a special ceremony.
As the story was recounted, on that day two years ago she noticed a carpenter working on her neighbor’s house. It was a normal day, and he was a familiar man. She recalled bringing him hot muffins on cold days.
When Haydocy’s attention was drawn back to the scene a short time later, the man was out of sight, but her neighbor was waving her arms frantically, beckoning Haydocy.
Haydocy found the man, slumped against the wall, unconscious.
Wendell Fire Department Capt. Asa de Roode had taught Haydocy CPR and other potentially life-saving techniques just weeks before at the Swift River School, which hosted New Salem and Wendell’s Senior SAFE lessons.
“Because she was old, she didn’t know if she could really get down on her knees,” de Roode recalled. “But she showed me she could do it and she was in this situation and, in this case, she did.”
In rural parts of western Massachusetts, CPR, which can be provided by friends, relatives, neighbors or passersby, is important because with longer response times in these communities, “it really makes a difference,” said de Roode, explaining that the nearest ambulance to New Salem is typically in Orange.
“The fire departments are small and they really rely on their citizens,” to take care of themselves and their neighbors, he noted.
“She got the guy down on the floor and had her neighbor counting out the compressions. She was kind of a rock star,” de Roode commented.
The Senior SAFE education program has been around since 2014, and Haydocy, a retired Swift River School teacher, was the third person in the area to be honored with its Golden Hero Award. That’s three exemplary, dramatic examples of how this program is probably working every day in ways that we don’t see.
For her part, Haydocy thanked the local police and fire departments for their hard work, and offered advice to other people hoping to make a difference in their community.
“The best thing you can do in all of your life is to pass on love,” she said.