Gas leak discovered during fire safety initiative for elderly folk

Firefighters uncovered a potentially dangerous gas leak while installing a smoke detector in the home of an elderly resident as part of a community safety initiative targetting vulnerable individuals living alone.

The Bridgetown Fire Station’s Green Watch led the initiative, installing smoke detectors in the homes of four elderly residents in the densely populated Ivy community in the fire service’s broader strategy to protect vulnerable populations and enhance public awareness about fire safety.

Among the beneficiaries were Anthony Loyder, 77; John Haynes, 88; and 73-yearold Creighton Alleyne.

The smoke detector installations, which took place a week ago on Tuesday, proved life-saving when firefighters discovered a gas leak at the home of Emily Terence, 75.

Station Officer Roger Bourne told Barbados TODAY: “While conducting an assessment, officers detected a strong odour of gas and traced it to a faulty connection behind her stove. Acting swiftly, they turned off the 100-pound gas cylinder and advised Ms Terence to refrain from using the stove until repairs were completed.

“We were able to avert it from going out of proportion,” he added, further warning residents to be mindful of such occurrences.

Station Officer Bourne explained the rationale behind the effort: “It’s an initiative that we at the Bridgetown Station are doing for densely populated areas and vulnerable people.

“We targeted the Ivy area, which is a densely populated area, and the criteria used was for older people who lived alone. So, anybody above 70 in that area living alone, we approached those particular individuals.”

He told Barbados TODAY that the smoke alarms were donated to the department from the private sector and further “reissued to vulnerable persons”.

While the initiative has been praised for its proactive approach, Bourne acknowledged challenges in sustaining the programme, particularly the reliance on donations.

“Plans are in place to expand the initiative, but the problem is that we still need to acquire smoke detectors, so we rely on donations from corporate Barbados to assist us,” he said The fire service called on the business community sector to support the programme to ensure its continuity and to help equip more homes with smoke detectors.

Residents in the Ivy community expressed gratitude for the effort, noting the importance of safety measures in preventing fires and other hazards.b (SM)