The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has received a $526,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) program in support of reducing fires and falls among older adults, a key high-risk population.

The funding will help broaden the reach and scale of Remembering When™: A fire and fall prevention program for older adults through the development of updated digital training and resources, which are used by public health and safety officials for implementation in their communities. 

“Remembering When has been a highly effective tool for helping educate older adults about ways to lower their risk of fires and falls and in connecting them with resources in their community,” said Andrea Vastis, senior director of NFPA’s Public Education Division. “Receiving this funding will help strengthen the program and broaden its reach, ultimately furthering its positive impact on the aging population’s health and safety.” 

Developed in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Remembering When program is based on 16 core fire and fall prevention messages that support behavior change, with related public education materials for distribution.

Since its launch in 1999, Remembering When has evolved and is currently implemented in the U.S. and Canada by community teams of fire service, elder care, and public health professionals to help reduce the incidence of fire and fall injuries and deaths among residents ages 65 and older.

While this age group comprises 16 percent of the total U.S. population, it experiences a disproportionate percentage of injuries and deaths from fires and falls; nearly one in three seniors (17 million people) suffers a fall each year. 

“Fire and EMS now see more fall victims than fire victims, often being called to the same homes repeatedly for falls. This reliance on the fire service presents a unique opportunity for fire and elder care services to work together to provide needed assistance and services to older adults,” said Vastis.

“But in order to more fully and effectively meet those growing needs, the reach, scope, and scale of the Remembering When program must be broadened and strengthened.”  

According to Vastis, the newly announced grant funding will allow NFPA over a two-year period to create new educational assets and a process to monitor local program activity and collect key data, and to develop online learning modules that deliver training to greater numbers of fire and elder/public health professionals.

The funding will also work to expand Remembering When messaging to include information around proper use of medication. Year one of the project will focus on development of these resources; year two will focus on pilot testing them. 

In order to meet the project’s objectives, NFPA will work with numerous partners for subject matter and technical expertise, as well as program guidance. Partners include the multi-disciplinary Remembering When Advisory Group, the NFPA Educational Messaging Advisory Group, the National Disability Rights Network, the University of Iowa’s School of Public Health, the Fire Protection Research Foundation, and other fire and life safety stakeholders.  

For this release and other announcements about NFPA initiatives, research and resources, please visit the NFPA press room.