Vacation Safety Tips for Seniors

Prepare Your Home Before Leaving on Vacation:

1. Create the illusion that someone is home

2. Set your lights, TV and radios on timers.

3. Have trusted neighbors maintain the yard and pick up the newspaper.

4. Have front outside lights on photo cells that activate in the evening and shut off at daybreak.

5. Tell trusted neighbors of your absence and encourage them to contact local law enforcement about any suspicious activity.

6. Make sure all entry points in the home are secure.

7. Turn down the ringer on your phone so a perpetrator won't hear it ringing repeatedly and know that no one is at home.

8. Activate your alarm system if you have one.

9. Stop your mail or have a neighbor/friend pick it up for you.

10. Disconnect the garage door opener and lock the garage door.

11. Turn off the water to the house to prevent rupturing of a hose or waterline.

12. Have trusted neighbors periodically check your house. This will create the illusion of occupancy. Also, your neighbors can identify potential problems and act immediately.

13. Leave a vehicle parked in the driveway. If you can't do this then ask one of the neighbors to park there.

14. Mow the lawn and trim any landscape so that the house looks as though people are living there.

Getting Ready for Your Vacation:

1. Bring sufficient money (preferably money orders and credit cards) for gas, food and lodging.

2. Acquire all road and trail maps prior to the trip.

3. Confirm all reservations before leaving home.

4. Have your vehicle/vessel serviced by a certified mechanic.

5. Contact persons who may be overseeing your home or pets while you are gone.

6. Engrave or mark your valuables before you leave and do an inventory of the contents of your home.

7. Before you leave, contact the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office at 983-1100 and request a House Watch. This means that a patrol car will periodically check your house while you are gone, when an officer is available to do so.

8. Stop any deliveries of packages, etc. You don't want these left on your doorstep signaling the perpetrator that no one is home.

While on Vacation:

1. Never open your hotel/motel door to strangers.

2. Park in well lit areas of the lodging parking lot.

3. If you are issued a credit card type hotel/motel room key be sure you destroy it when you leave the lodging facility. Do not return it to the facility or leave it in the room when you check out. This card has much of your personal information embedded on it that can be used by someone else for identity theft. If you return it to the front desk it is available to employees to access. They can simply scan it in the hotel scanner and have all your personal information. An employee can also take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense. (As a norm, hotels do not erase your information on the card until an employee issues the card to the next hotel guest.) Hotels will not charge you a fee for not turning in the card.

4. Do not carry large sums of currency while you travel.

5. Listen to your instincts. Act immediately if you think something is dangerous or suspicious.

6. Plan ahead for any problems you might encounter.

7. Be sure an area is safe before exploring.

8. Don't drink and drive. If you choose to drink, monitor your consumption and participate in a designated driving program.

9. Do all things in moderation: eating, drinking, driving, sun exposure, etc.

10. Drive responsibly. Immediately report aggressive driving to 911.

Fire Safety for Seniors:

Fire-related injuries number over 100,000 and possibly two or three times that many, when injuries from unreported fires and injuries are taken into account. Burn injuries are particularly tragic because of the tremendous pain and suffering they cause. Serious burns tend to cause both physical and psychological damage and they may involve not only the victims but their family and friends. People over 59 have a much higher fire death rate than the average population. Those 70 and above comprise 21 percent of the fire deaths. Over 1200 Americans over the age of 65 die as a result of a fire each year. Older adults comprise over 25 percent of fire deaths of all ages and 30 percent of fire deaths in the home. Fires and burns are a leading cause of deaths from unintentional injuries among older adults. Fires caused by cooking are the leading cause of fire-related injuries to the elderly. Many older adults take multiple medications, the interaction of which can cause a variety of side effects, including confusion, that may alter the decision-making process and increase the potential for accidents. The impairment caused by the combination of alcohol and prescription drugs in older adults can be significant. Such impairments may lead to an increased likelihood of accidentally starting a fire, not detecting a fire, and not being able to escape a fire.(Courtesy of FEMA/United States Fire Administration)

Fire Safety Tips for Older Adults :

1. Have a fire extinguisher on hand in the home and garage/workshop areas.

2. Be careful when cooking. Be sure to turn off the oven and stove when not in use.

Keep stove surfaces free of clutter and built-up grease. Use oven mitts. If a pan of food catches fire, using a pot holder, carefully slide a lid over it and turn off the burner. Leave the lid in place.

3. Do not smoke in bed or while drinking alcohol or while on medication. Use non-tip ashtrays and empty them often, wetting the contents before dumping them into a trash receptacle.

4. Install smoke alarms throughout the house, garage and workshops.

5. Keep portable heaters and space heaters at least 3 feet from everything including you. Turn heaters off before going to sleep.

6. Plan an escape route out of your home ahead of time. Make sure exits are not blocked by furniture or other items.

7. Know how to unlock doors and windows, even when you can't see if blinded by smoke.

8. If you are trapped during a fire, remain calm. Close all doors between you and the smoke. If there is a phone in the room, call the fire department even if you can see fire trucks through your window. Stuff rags, towels or clothing in the cracks around doors.

9. Test doors before you open them and see it if is hot. Do not open if it is hot. In a fire emergency, use the stairs, not the elevator in a building or home.

10. Leave the structure as soon as possible. Do not go back into the building for any reason.

11. If you catch fire, Stop-Drop-Roll. Cool any burns with water and call for help.