Firefighters Come
To Seniors’ Rescue

The pumper and ladder truck of Engine 6 on Goffe Street arrived at the scene at 10:10 a.m. Firefighters Dawud Amin and Palmer Gaines brought the hoses and axe into the lobby at 10:12. Then the chief arrived to coordinate.

No, flames were not shooting out of the 14-story Edith Johnson Towers on Bristol Street Friday morning. An equally burning event accounted for the call: The two rigs and dozen men were beginning the roll-out of the city’s first sustained fire prevention and safety program designed specifically for older folks.

Firefighters practiced first on the Edith Johnson Towers. In the coming month, they plan to reach all the senior towers in New Haven.

The spark for the program took place during the winter when seniors at Edith Johnson told Dixwell Alderwoman Jeanette Morrison their anxieties about fire evacuation. Morrison contacted Michael Neal, a childhood friend and city firefighter who is also active in the Firebirds, the fraternal organization of black firefighters. The department embraced the initiative. Neal and the Firebirds at first planned to bring the fire drill only to the five senior towers in Morrison’s ward.

When an 82-year-old-woman at a fire call in Westville last month expressed the same concern, firefighters decided to make it citywide.

“If you look at fire deaths in the U.S., it’s usually the very young and the very old or handicapped,” said Chief Michael Grant as some 25 seniors, many in wheelchairs or maneuvering with walkers, gathered at the Edith Johnson community room Friday morning. Then the ​“fire evacuation” demosntration began.

10:28: Lt. Teo Baldwin, who heads the Goffe Street station, told the seniors their building is very safe. It has concrete construction, metal doors, and strong fire suppression systems.

Most small fires are going to start from unsafe cooking or smoking, he said. If there is a fire in the building not near you, stay in your apartment, he advised. If you have to leave and can’t get out, we’ll come for you, he said.

10:34: Darlene Taylor, who lives on the third floor and is legally blind, listened intently. She remained anxious. She said during one fire alarm, ​“I couldn’t go down the steps because it was too black.”

10:48: Amin and Gaines demonstrated the air tanks and otherworldly masks they would be wearing when entering the building in case of a real fire. Captain Jack Ryan implored the residents: ​“Don’t be afraid. Come to the door to greet us if you have smoke from a cooking fire. We’ll get the smoke out. We won’t tell.”

11:15: Someone asked how much the hose that firefighter Jeff Foster was carrying weighs. Answer: 65 pounds. When firefighters arrive at the scene of a fire, they first designate one stairway for operations and one for rescue. Seniors are to stay out of the operations stairway.

As the morning’s demonstration drew to a close, the firefighters gathered their gear. Capt. Ryan suggested that, Godforbid, if you’re found unconscious in the apartment, it’d be nice to have a list of your medications addressed to fire cepartment right on your refrigerator. Firefighter Jeff Foster distributed a ​“Stop Cooking Fires” brochure published by the the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters.

“The best way to be safe is stay in your apartment. Management has provided a list of people with mobility issues,” Lt. Baldwin re-emphasized.

Next week firefighters plan to take their road show to Casa Otoñal and Tower One in the Hill. After that they plan to hit Fair Haven and the biggest, most senior-filled towers of them all, at Bella Vista.