HUDSON — The fire department is offering a new safety program for senior citizens.

The Fire Safe Seniors Program is available to city residents who are 65 and older and live independently in their homes, and to residents who have hearing impaired students in the Hudson City Schools. The program is funded by a $47,000 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant that the city received from the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fire Chief Jerry Varnes said the department is providing an additional $2,352 for the program.

The program provides several fire safety items free of charge to residents who meet the qualification requirements.

“I feel it is an incredibly important program intended to reach seniors living alone at home and making their lives safer in the event of a fire,” said Varnes. “I recognize that seniors are the fastest growing population in Hudson and we would like to be as proactive as possible in assisting this highly at-risk demographic.”

The products being offered through the Fire Safe Seniors Program are:

• New smoke detectors with working batteries. The fire department will ensure the proper number of detectors are installed in the house;

• A bed shaker/strobe for people who are hard of hearing and may not hear a beeping smoke detector. This product will shake the bed and flash a light when the detector is activated;

• A Knox Box is a secure key box that will allow the fire department and EMS to gain access to a home if a resident is unable to make it to the door to let the safety forces in. This means emergency responders would not have to force entry into a residence; and

• Reflective address numbers that will help safety forces locate a home more quickly. These items will be provided through EMS Outreach of Hudson.

“Seniors with mobility challenges and residents with hearing difficulties are especially at risk during an emergency and we feel the smoke detectors, Knox Boxes and bed shakers significantly improve their ability to either rescue themselves or give fast access to the firefighters and EMS personnel during an emergency,” said Varnes.

To sign up for the program, qualified residents or loved ones should call 330-342-1860. A fire department representative would visit the home and determine what products the resident needs and install those items if the citizen wants them, according to a city news release. A member of the fire department will make a follow-up visit to make sure all products are working properly, Varnes said.

Subsequent follow-up work will be handled by the city’s RUOK program, he said.

The products are available while supplies last. The program ends Aug. 21, 2019.

Reporter Phil Keren can be reached at 330-541-9421, pkeren@recordpub.com, or on Twitter at @keren_phil.