July is a Disaster Preparedness Month and sadly we see fires around our state and nation. Fortunately, our local fire department is proactively seeking out a multitude of pre-existing conditions for residents and planning for how to better address unique needs during a disaster.
“Disasters exacerbate our pre-existing conditions,” says Daiko Abe, Senior Fire and Life Safety Educator with the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Kalee Nappo, Fire and Life Safety Educator, is part of the team who visits long term care communities too. No older adult is overlooked. Get insights on the gaps we miss and where to go to get connected.
Additionally, a thank you to the Beacon Senior News with Rhonda Wray as she provides the latest stories in the News.
Aging with Altitude is recorded in the Pikes Peak region with a focus on topics of aging interest across the country. We talk about both the everyday and novel needs and approaches to age with altitude – whether you’re in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida or Leadville, Colorado. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging is the producer.
BEACON Senior News is a proud sponsor/partner for this podcast. BEACON Senior News empowers Colorado seniors with inspiring local stories, timely coverage of senior issues, health and travel features, retirement and financial guidance, senior expos and local resources — all presented in a fun, engaging way that helps older adults lead happier, healthier lives. Catch all the news at: beaconseniornews.com/
Transcript
MELISSA MARTS:
Thank you for subscribing to the Aging with Altitude podcast. And for those regular listeners, our July story is focused on emergency and disaster preparedness. Some of us think we’ve planned ahead and we know what’s going on. And we know that we’re going to leave early when we need to leave early.
However, that doesn’t always happen. And so on today’s episode, we have the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s fire and life safety educators talking about best practices, talking about the survey that they are doing and all the great information that they are gleaning from that, and how we can be a much more agile, much more prepared, much more safe, and better community for our emergencies that come up and our disasters that kind of hit us off guard. But we are learning and we are ready to tackle this in a new and better way. So thank you for tuning in to today’s episode.
VOICEOVER:
You’re listening to Studio 809 podcasts, the cure for common apathy and indifference. Reported side effects include a sense of being informed and engaged. Ask your doctor if Studio 809 is right for you.
MARTS:
This is Melissa with the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging, Aging with Altitude podcast. And again, today I have in the room our Beacon Senior News sponsor. Thank you so much for all that you do for us and all that you do for the community to get the word out about great things happening for older adults as well as caregivers.
And I know that some of the things you’re covering in the July edition, I’m very excited that you guys are featuring another woman here in our community who’s done some really great outdoor things. And it is summertime here now. And so we’re all excited about being outside. But not everybody knows how to get on the water.
And we know that our entity that publishes Aging with Altitude with Dave Gardner, Studio 809. Dave has been doing this for a long time, and it just so happens that his wife, Ruth, is featured in this month’s edition with the Beacon Senior News.
Ruth has been this icon in the community for what she does. And so I’m so glad that you guys found that to be true and decided to interview her and share her story.
And so Rhonda, tell us a little bit more about the July edition of the Beacon Senior News and what people can look forward to. What have you got going on?
RHONDA WRAY:
Yeah, it was my honor to tell Ruth Gardner’s story. What she has done in water skiing is impressive, just being in her 60s, but then throw MS into the mix. And it’s just pretty mind boggling, really.
And she is an extraordinary person on a lot of levels, athletics certainly, but just as a decent human being who cares about others. One aspect of the story that really touched my heart, is when she got fellow MS, someone who’s living with MS, up on skis. And this person didn’t think she would ever be able to do that again.
MARTS:
I wouldn’t have thought either. Wow. Yeah, really great.
WRAY:
Yeah, that was a highlight for me.
MARTS:
Good.
WRAY:
And then we also have come up a couple other things.
CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, who go to bat for those children in the community who don’t have a voice, who’ve been neglected or abused. And it tells a little bit about what is involved there.
MARTS:
Good. And with that CASA piece, I do know a person who’s been volunteering with CASA for a long, long time. And it also turns out that person is an older adult himself.
So I’m curious for other people to read up on that and know that it’s a possibility that, no matter what age you are, you can also sign up to become a CASA. So good. Glad you were covering that story.
WRAY:
Yes. And the last one I’ll highlight is in honor of the America 250, Colorado 150. We have a story by Colleen Story. Yes, she’s a good writer who tells good stories.
But it’s about her trip to the Liberty Bell as a little kid and just the wonder and awe she felt. And then going back decades later and just feeling that same sense of awe.
MARTS:
Oh, very fun. And so for people who read it, hopefully they will have a similar kind of, went one time when I was younger and came back and saw something whether it’s a Liberty Bell or another place. Yeah, that’s a fun story too.
And so where can people find the Beacon Senior News?
WRAY:
Oh, wow. We’re all over. We’re at the library, we’re at Safeways, most King Soopers, YMCA, some thrift stores, believe it or not. You’d be surprised where all the Beacon is.
MARTS:
Good. And again, you’re not just in Colorado Springs too. You are where else?
WRAY:
Yeah, El Paso, Taylor, Pueblo and Fremont counties.
MARTS:
Super. Good, good. So for listeners in those counties, go check out your July edition of the Beacon Senior News.
And thank you again, Rhonda, for the support of our Aging with Altitude podcast and our partnership.
WRAY:
Our pleasure.
MARTS: Thank you. Until next time.
WRAY:
Thank you.
MARTS:
Welcome to Aging with Altitude, a podcast providing information, advice and resources for seniors, families and caregivers to help you live your best life, courtesy of the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging.
We’re coming to you from the Studio 809 community podcast studio at the Next Us, a professional cooperative environment for small businesses in downtown Colorado Springs. I’m your host, Melissa Marts, with the Pikes Peak Area Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging.
I have the Colorado Springs Fire Department in here with me. And we are talking about disaster preparedness and some of the really interesting projects that they are working on here in the Pikes Peak region. And even if we’re talking about Pikes Peak, this is true all across the country. And we have a really interesting story to start with here in a few seconds.
But first, I again want to thank our listeners for tuning in and paying attention to all the great things that we share on Aging with Altitude. So in the studio, I have Daiko Abe with the Fire Department. I also have Kalee Nappo.
And I’m going to start with having Daiko share a little bit about his role and the department that he’s in. And then I also want him to talk about a personal experience that he’s had and why he’s in this room with us, why he’s here in Colorado Springs and why he does what he does. So Daiko, I’m going to turn it over to you for a minute.
DAIKO ABE:
Yeah, so great to be with you, Melissa. So grateful for our listeners. What an awesome privilege it is to be part of this really important discussion as we talk about preparedness, especially with our older adults.
We know we live in a very unique, beautiful community with the mountains, the vegetation, the outdoors. But with that, certainly, especially this summer, comes the risks of wildfires and other emergencies and disasters that can affect us on a day-to-day level.
I’m with the Community Education Outreach Section of the Division of the Fire Marshall within the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Kalee and I, our role, is to really go out and ensure that our general population, all the way from the littles to our older adults, are prepared. Our focus is fire and life safety, but certainly emergencies and disasters as well. In fact, my background before coming to the Colorado Springs Fire Department was as an emergency management consultant for the last 17 years.
So I’ve worked from coast to coast, some of the largest disasters. I would say probably the biggest disaster that affected me professionally and most definitely personally was the earthquake, then the tsunami, then the Fukushima nuclear power plant issue that occurred in 2011 in Japan. So I’m Japanese and both my parents immigrated to the United States before I was born, but my father’s side of the family, their entire family, lives in Ishinomaki, which was the epicenter of the earthquake and the tsunami.
So we, you know, six months after the tsunami, I had the opportunity to go and go find my grandfather because communications were down, debris was everywhere. And so we needed to make sure our family, specifically my grandfather, was safe and my grandma was safe. So just what a horrific first world disaster that we all kind of saw unfold.
And Melissa, if it’s okay, I can just share a little bit about that experience.
MARTS:
Yeah, please do, because I’ve got chills just even hearing about it a little bit. We have made it through some pretty serious wildfires and flooding here in our area, but I know that when we watched the news of all that unfolding, it was pretty awful in Japan. So please.
ABE:
Yeah, absolutely. And I think it has a lot of relevance for our discussion today in terms of how we, as individuals, but also caretakers, can really have a very instrumental role in ensuring that everyone in our household is safe, especially our older adults.
And what was interesting, I’ll talk about my grandmother first. She was living with my uncle and the water started to rise and my uncle put my grandmother on the table. The water kept rising and put her on the counter. And at that point they realized we’re probably not going to survive.
Fortunately, they lived right behind the fire station. So as they were evacuating in their canoes, they knew that my grandmother had some special needs and was a little bit more vulnerable. And so as they evacuated, they rescued her and my uncle.
My grandfather, on the other hand, lived up on the mountain. So he was pretty fortunate, had no idea. He knew there was an earthquake because everything was shaking.
A few days later, he’s a hermit, walked down the mountain and was like, why is there water and why is there fish everywhere?
MARTS:
Oh my goodness.
ABE:
He was kind of clueless. But what’s interesting from that story is that we eventually got my grandfather and brought him to America to live because he just didn’t have the capacity to live alone. And what’s unique about this story is, here you have an individual that survived one of the largest natural disasters and technological disasters the world has known. But given his state, living in America with my parents, not speaking the language, having tremendous mobility limitations, cognitive decline, not having any form of transportation, he certainly couldn’t drive. If he were to experience a disaster, even of lesser magnitude, given those conditions, he would be so much more vulnerable and so much more dependent on my parents and others.
So his ability to survive and survivability would be certainly diminished. And I think that’s the story of today, is that as we’re thinking about preparedness, and certainly probably not going to have a tsunami in Colorado Springs, but wildfire flooding, severe weather, prolonged power outages, those are all big concerns.
We just have to be really honest with ourselves and what our capabilities are, what our vulnerabilities are. And as caretakers, whoever you might be, whether you’re a child or a friend or relative, just being really honest with each other about what our capabilities are.
And then when you go into that planning piece is just making sure that we’re not just taking a template from the web, from the internet and developing a plan, but being really honest in terms of our preparedness measures and communication with each other and practicing your plan is so important.
So I open with that simply to share that, yeah, we’ve lived it, we’ve seen it, Waldo Canyon, Black Forest Fire, so many others that we’ve had in the history of Colorado Springs and so many others. But the reality is preparedness really starts at the individual level.
MARTS:
And I’m so glad to know that you guys are getting messages out all the time. But there are certain months of the year where it’s an opportunity to really get in front of people and say, let’s really talk about it now. And July is one of those times.
And Kalee, tell us a little bit about some of the things you’re working on right now that complement this story that Daiko just shared and helping people be prepared.
KALEE NAPPO:
So my name is Kalee Nappo. I’m also with the Colorado Springs Fire Department. And my role is to really educate everyone in the population, whether it’s little to our older population and really making sure that we are more proactive rather than reactive.
So that preparation piece is key. Been working quite frequently with all our partners in town and really figuring out who are the resources, where are the resources, because it takes a village, it takes all of us to work together. It’s not just one person that can do something.
And so my role has been gathering those resources and building those relationships, making sure that people understand the importance of community, the importance of knowing your neighbors, and really lifting one another up and supporting in preparation.
So that comes from all the way to having those, sometimes uncomfortable conversations of what we can and can’t do. And then also having those realistic conversations of, if this happens, really, it’s when it happens, because we know that we are due. We had Waldo and Black Forest fire a few years back, but it has been awfully dry. And we have not hit our monsoon season like we were hoping by yet. And so we do have a big scare this summer.
So making sure that everybody’s thinking about those things. And what do we need to prepare? What are those checklists that we need to put together? Go bags. Who do we need to prepare? And then also thinking about what is that transportation that needs to be in order?
MARTS:
True. I think you guys are closing down on a survey that’s been available to the community that is really robust and rockstar quality here. And so Daiko, tell us a little bit about this survey that is going to help guide some direction in our community and where we go next.
But I’d also love to feature some of the questions that you guys have on it, because I love the questions in the survey, too. So tell us about that survey.
ABE:
Yeah. So we did a community preparedness survey. It’s part of a much broader community risk assessment.
So it’s a very comprehensive, very in-depth document that describes all of our risks, all of our hazards, our vulnerabilities. So when you look at risk, it’s not just the hazard. It also takes into consideration our vulnerability.
So we always say disasters exacerbate our pre-existing conditions. So it’s really important to understand the makeup of our community and then what are those hazards, both natural, technological, human cause. And the intersection of the hazard and our built environment, our people, all those things, that collision is what constitutes a disaster or emergency, right?
So when we’re looking at understanding our risks from the standpoint of Colorado Springs and the much broader Pikes Peak region, I think for a lot of folks, they’re probably not some tremendous surprises. But I think what’s amazing about this survey that we did, which is a part of this much bigger project, we had 1,083 responses. I think we’re actually close to 1,100. We’re over that number.
But what’s amazing, and I just have to say a tremendous thank you to our older adults that have been so engaged, 569 of those responses.
MARTS:
And when you say older adults, what’s that age?
ABE:
65 and over.
MARTS:
65 and over.
ABE:
Yeah.
MARTS:
Have been really responsive to this.
ABE:
Very engaged, very responsive. And so when we look at our data. And for those that took the survey, you know that it was close to 60 questions. On average, it took folks 12 to 15 minutes. One person told me it took them 40 minutes to complete.
And what’s unique about this survey, you actually had to go all the way to the end and hit submit for it to get counted. So it had to be completed. So it’s even more impressive.
But it gave us so much data, right? So when we’re trying to understand our community, it’s not just Kalee and I sitting in our office trying to determine and articulate the risks of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region, but it’s actually the input of so many.
So I can maybe touch on a few findings that I think people will find very informative.
The first one, the data shows in this survey that they’ve lived here 20 plus years, many of them. They’ve lived and experienced all that the natural and technological environment has to offer. So they’ve experienced Waldo, Black Forest, all those hazards. So there’s so much wisdom. There’s so much knowledge.
And so in terms of actual preparedness, I would say this population segment is actually more prepared. That’s what the data shows so far. They’re more prepared. They have more experience. They’ve done more mitigation, especially when it comes to wildfire mitigation. So they have the knowledge, they’ve taken action.
But what’s really impressive about the information and the data, and it shouldn’t be a huge surprise, is that they also have vulnerabilities, right? When we look at those with mobility limitation, cognitive decline, hearing, vision, all those things dependent on electrical devices. So when I look at some of the data in terms of the things that kind of keep them up at night, not having power is a big one, more so than the general population, because there’s a dependency on some of these devices and things that they need to live and to be able to thrive. And so in terms of level of preparedness and knowledge, certainly our older adults are much, much more attuned to that.
However, when it comes to our vulnerabilities, that’s where we typically, depending on the data and what year of the census information you’re looking at, whether it’s the 2020 or the ACS, American Community Survey, it could be as high as 37% of the population, 65 and over, have some form of disability, whether it’s cognitive, mobility, or otherwise, right?
We haven’t completed the survey. It’s still open. We’re kind of coming to a close here, and we’ve done some preliminary analyses, especially for this podcast. It’s when you start to compound these challenges and barriers, that’s where, and just speaking of evacuation specifically, not knowing multiple routes, being electricity dependent, you’re age 65 and over with a disability. If you’re of a lower socioeconomic status, typically $50,000 or less. From a statistical standpoint, that’s where we start to see some of those evacuation concerns in terms of level of readiness and ability to actually escape or evacuate.
So those are just a couple of things. Another one that’s really striking is it’s one thing to have knowledge, right? It’s another thing to do. Among older adults, a lot of folks have a home fire escape plan and have identified multiple evacuation routes, but only 5.3% of this group have actually practiced it. And so I think my message today, really is, it’s one thing to know it. It’s another thing to do it and practice it. And especially with your caregivers, caretakers, having that discussion, actually executing your plan so that if you ever have to do it, you’re in a position to actually do it.
In terms of willingness to comply with an evacuation order, over 95% said, yeah, absolutely. If the fire chief says it’s time to evacuate, guess what? They’re going to go. They’re a much more compliant group than others.
MARTS:
Because I do feel like in the last couple of wildfire deaths that have happened across the state, not just in Colorado Springs, but other places as well, sadly, the people who have died were people who were over 60, for whatever reason. And it could be anybody really, because I think some of the people stayed because they couldn’t find a pet or, when that could happen to anybody at any age. And it’s just interesting that when you do look at the people who have been caught and died in the wildfires, they were the folks who were older, but we don’t want anybody to have that happen.
And so when the study is over, what are some of the ways that you’re going to be, one, getting information out to our people, but two, educating and working with the community that has no idea that this is even going on, right?
ABE:
Yeah, so what’s amazing about this study is…the reason why it’s such a long survey, and I do apologize about that in advance, right? And for those who took the survey, but it gives us such specific data points. So when Kalee and I and our team, we go out and we do fire and life safety education, wildfire preparedness, readiness education, and we’re working with the community, we have the data by neighborhood, by zip code. So we can be very targeted and specific in terms of not just where you live, but also your demographic information.
And so it just gives us the ability to be so much more targeted and specific to make sure our education, our outreach, is very specific to what keeps you up at night, what you need. And more broadly, the community risk assessment is a strategic document.
So as we kind of look in an environment where we have limited budgets and we’re all straining to do more with less, all this information. We look at demographic trends, we know that in terms of our 65 and over population, as we look out to 2050, it’s one of those demographics that’s just going to continue to grow. Right now, I think we’re at 16%. By 2050, it’s going to be over 20%.
And then that 65 population group might flatline a little bit, but the 85 and over is going to grow significantly. So again, as we live longer and we age in place and all these things that come with an aging community, we’re going to have some vulnerabilities. So as a fire department, we want to make sure we’re well positioned for that.
And I will say Kalee’s work with our CareLink program has been phenomenal. We really haven’t had that historically. And Kalee has just been amazing in helping to drive that program and just make those connections.
And your organization is phenomenal.
MARTS:
So are you guys. The mutual rah-rah society here, which is good. And Kalee, talk a little bit about CareLink.
What is that? What does that look like?
NAPPO:
Yeah. The CareLink program is a risk reduction program that is currently being revamped. I spoke earlier about being a little bit more proactive.
So that’s what we’re trying to do is be a little bit more proactive, get the information, get the resources out there rather than reactive. So making sure that people have the proper tools. And this is focused typically on the older population, but really anyone can benefit from it, including those that are supporting the older population, caregivers, and just making sure that everyone has access.
I’ve had an opportunity to work with others and sharing those resources. We have a bunch of safety tips on the Colorado Springs Fire Department website that you can go through and just kind of pick and choose what kind of suits your situation.
You had mentioned earlier about people not wanting to evacuate due to pets. That’s the number two reason why people will not evacuate is due to pets. So making sure that you have that preparation, making sure that not only are you preparing yourself or your caregiver for that go bag, but you’re preparing your animal and making sure that all of that is a three-to-five day span to make sure that they’re prepared.
And then where are you going to place them? So where is your alternative to take them with you? Because as we know, our pets are our babies and we want them to be right there along with us. So again, having those friends with the neighbors, not just next door, but across town that are willing to take you on, take your pets on and make sure that you have that preparation for them.
MARTS:
True.
NAPPO:
Yeah.
MARTS:
Just in the last couple of weeks, I guess, there have been two circumstances that kind of brought to light this need. Everybody I think knows it, but I just wanted to shed some light on two things. One was, you guys are Colorado Springs Fire, but in Manitou at the beginning of June, there was a pretty significant house fire. You’re nodding your heads and saying, yes.
And of course I was just in Manitou over the weekend. And so I was reminded, and the woman in that house was 83 years old and she made it out. It was an early morning fire and she made it out and the fire department got in there and put everything out, but just a total loss. And here was a 83-year-old woman. And we think that 83, oh, maybe she’s got some vulnerabilities, but there’s a lot of people who are in their nineties who are doing great and living alone and doing all the things they need to do.
But we’re just glad that she made it out. And that fire did not spread because Manitou is such a tight little community. It’s amazing that the fire department kept that under control and got everybody safe.
And then the second thing is that we have family friends and one of them is dying with cancer and cannot get out of their house because they have massive amounts of stairs. As we talk about preparing for an emergency evacuation, that’s the last thing on their mind right now because they’re just incredibly frustrated that it’s hard to get him out of the house at this point in time to go to cancer treatments, like, he can’t even leave. And so then you start to add a little layer on top that we could have a catastrophic emergency and what is her plan to get him out of the house?
And so for listeners who are listening today, just take that to heart a little bit because you just never know. And it’s a lot to be dealing with a person who’s actively dying and you’re just trying to cope. But then also there is a possibility of how do I get this person out of the house if I really need to and who do I call? So-
ABE:
Yeah. One of the things that’s interesting is Kalee and I talk a lot about just the importance of mobility, right? Because so many individuals are older adults.
Every day is an emergency. It’s a crisis because of just their situation and making sure you stay active and mobile. Because when it comes to just everyday living, but your ability to escape a home fire or to evacuate during a wildfire or other emergency, the mobility aspect is so important. But the one thing I will say you can never buy more of, and this is just my 20 years of just working in the disaster world, is time.
We push out our evacuation, pre-evacuation warnings, evacuation orders. If you are someone who’s a little bit more vulnerable, that pre-evacuation warning, or if you just sense, you know what, I think the conditions are such that I just need to be in a position to leave now, do so, right? And even inside the home, having a working smoke alarm, right?
All those alerts and warnings are designed to give us time to act, right? And if you are a little bit more vulnerable, then the time is the one aspect, the one variable that you can’t control, but you certainly need more of.
MARTS:
So then you can control it in some ways, if you’re planning ahead. And you just do.
ABE:
Especially for like a wildfire, right? So we, you know, and again, the survey shows that our older adults are a little bit more compliant when it comes to evacuation orders.
But I can say looking at case studies and just my experience of other wildfires, and I keep talking about wildfires because that’s, obviously with the fire department. And we’re certainly concerned this year, given the conditions. Sometimes during that pre-evacuation warning, people are running errands, and they’re running back and forth and doing things when in fact they should be just going and getting out.
MARTS:
Just going and getting out.
ABE:
So just be cognizant of, again, going back to what your capabilities are, what your vulnerabilities are, and then the aspect of time. So if you are someone just who needs a little bit more time and coordination, don’t delay.
MARTS:
Great.
NAPPO:
And understanding that you can replace things, but you can’t replace people, you can’t replace pets. So that should be the utmost priority is just making sure that you and your loved ones are safe. and having that communication plan to communicate that you’re safe so that everyone has that peace of mind. But just speaking on preparedness and being ready to go, one of the things that we do provide that is also at your guys’ agency, is the file of life. So that’s something that you can prepare ahead of time, no matter if you have a disability, a need for medication, or any of that stuff.
What it is is it’s a miniature medical record. So it has all of your basic information, it has allergies, it has a spot for pet information, hospital information, so if you are vulnerable at any situation, it is your voice. So it’s something that you can prepare with your doctor and make sure that you have all of your information and it’s one per person in each household.
So making sure that everybody has that information. Because it is a quick grab and go where you don’t have to think about it, but then you have that important information as you are leaving.
MARTS:
Oh, good, good to know. And if people don’t come by our office to pick it up, can they get one at the fire department?
NAPPO:
Yeah, so you can find them, you can come down to 375 Printers Parkway and we have them there, or you can reach me at (719) 385-5182, and I can bring it to your area of business or need.
MARTS:
Good, thanks. And is there an event coming up in July?
NAPPO:
Yeah, so we are partnering with AARP and just speaking a lot of what we are discussing today about that emergency preparedness, who are those resources and really fine tuning what is your plan and when are you practicing it? How often are you practicing it? I mean, it’s a good idea to take a look at everything every month, whether that’s your file of life, whether that’s your emergency preparedness plan, whether that’s your communication plan, but making sure that that is at the forefront of your mind. Because as we speak of wildfires, we say it’s wildfire season, well, we’re here in Colorado, wildfire season is all year round.
So making sure that’s always at the forefront of your mind of making sure that you’re constantly checking in with it and talking about it. So we’ll be speaking about that as well and just really expanding on this conversation.
MARTS:
Great, and so what’s the date on that and where’s the location?
NAPPO:
Yeah, so that’s gonna be a webinar. You can find the link on the AARP website. It’s called Emergency Preparedness and it is July 27th.
MARTS:
Okay, great, and a webinar. And so does that mean people from all over Colorado are gonna be tuning in, all over the country?
NAPPO:
Yeah, so it’s available for everyone that just clicks on the link. So it’s all over the country. And we’ve got a representative from Hey Neighbor, we have a representative from AARP. We’ll have a few people on the webinar to be able to really get a robust information collection.
MARTS:
Super, good, good. Well, I’m glad for that. And I know it was talked about with mobility and just the importance of people keeping active.
And we have some different falls prevention programs that are in the community as well and I know the fire department’s really into that. And so just for listeners on the line here, keep doing what you’re doing, stay active, be proactive, leave when you have plenty of time to get out still, know your plan, communicate, all those great things. And be on the lookout for the survey results from this survey. We’ll all be looking forward to hearing more and learning more.
And again, from the fire department perspective, I think what most of us know about are the firefighters who go out and are putting out the fires. But you guys are definitely forefront as well, because you’re out doing community education, but also a little bit behind the scenes. So I am so glad to know more about this community education piece and to know that you guys are out there doing this.
How large is your department?
ABE:
Yeah, so we’re part of the division of the fire marshal. So about 100 civilian individuals that support the fire department. I think most people, like you said, see are over 500 firefighters that are really super critical.
But I think the important thing to recognize is we all work so closely together. We realize that we need each other. Our focus is really on the prevention side.
And so as our city grows, our call volumes, we know, are gonna grow, but anything we can do to reduce those call volumes, make our community more resilient, it keeps our community safe, it keeps our firefighters safe. And so that’s really the goal. So working together, whether it’s our inspectors, our investigators, our support staff, we have our fire code, all these things that are intended to ensure that we prevent people from having their worst day.
And with our firefighters, they typically show up on someone’s worst day and they are so professional, so friendly. It really is a family and we all are working very closely together.
Kalee and I are a mighty team of four, our community education outreach. We have a really fun job of going out and educating and being part of that prevention, preparedness, resiliency team, but we can’t do this ourselves. So with your organization, your efforts, and so many others, right, that we work so closely with, it really takes a village. It takes all of us to be part of this work in building resiliency to our community.
MARTS:
Great, and so again, a phone number that people can call if they have questions, website. State those again for us, Kalee.
NAPPO:
Yeah, so if you wanna get a hold of the community education and outreach team, you can reach us at (719) 385-5182, or you can visit our website if you go to coloradosprings.gov and select the fire department. You can fill out an inquiry if you want us to come to present. If you want any of those safety tips that we’ve spoken about today, you can definitely view those.
One other phone number that I do wanna put out there is our non-emergent number. So what we consider non-emergent is maybe something that could wait 20 minutes, is 444-7000. So the only reason why we are wanting people to call 911 is to save a life, report a crime, or stop a fire.
So just making sure that we’re utilizing the phone numbers properly and knowing that community education and outreach team is here to support you and answer any of those questions. We’re happy to work with everyone in the community.
MARTS:
Great, thank you so much. And Daiko, thank you for your story with your family and the coming to the United States with your grandfather. I’m so glad.
And for those who are out there, stay safe, but enjoy our wonderful Colorado that we live in. And until next time, take care.
That’s the show. Thanks to all of you for being with us today. Aging with Altitude is created by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging. Visit us at ppacg.org and click on aging services for more information about the programs of the area agency on aging.
DAVE GARDNER:
Hi, I’m Dave Gardner, Chief Podcaster Wrangler at Studio 809 Podcasts. We’re a collective of podcasters here in the Pikes Peak region committed to having local residents who are better informed and more engaged.
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