Firehouse.com

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Oct. 13--City firehouses are launching a campaign to promote health and safety by embarking on some new permanent activities.

The goal calls for transforming Buffalo's 19 firehouses into places where people can visit on a daily basis to receive life-saving information that goes beyond preventing fires.

One component of the new effort encourages people to stop in for free blood pressure checks. Fire Commissioner Garnell W. Whitfield Jr. said training already is under way and new equipment is being purchased to ensure that fire stations have additional blood pressure monitors even when crews have been dispatched to emergencies.

Masten Council Member Demone

A. Smith urged the Fire Department this summer to begin offering blood pressure checks daily. Smith said he was pleased the city is moving forward with the program, noting that heart attacks and strokes are among the region's top killers.

"Western New York is the home of the chicken wing," Smith said. "Offering convenient blood pressure checks could save lives."

Whitfield agreed, saying the program is a logical extension to the roles the Fire Department already performs.

"We do a great job of responding to emergencies in the community," he said. "This is going to help us to prevent some of these crises from occurring."

In the near future, the health awareness program will be expanded beyond blood pressure checks. Whitfield said firefighters are working with other groups on a number of outreach efforts. People, for example, will be able to visit firehouses to learn how to prevent trip-and-fall accidents.

"Falls are one of the leading causes of demise among our elderly," Whitfield said.

The Fire Department is partnering with a coalition called Western New York Falls Prevention to distribute materials that offer tips on making homes safer and other advice for minimizing falls.

Another feature will encourage residents to visit firehouses to pick up File of Life magnetized pouches and cards. They are designed to stick to refrigerators or other visible spots where important medical information can be easily found by emergency responders.

The new outreach efforts will be formally announced in the near future. The city will even make signs to be posted near firehouses, encouraging passers-by to make potentially life-saving stops.

The city has a long tradition of staging open houses at various firehouses throughout the city to promote safety. But Smith said he believes a year-round blitz is a wise investment of resources. He's convinced it will even produce spinoff benefits that will include making people more aware of fire hazards.

Logistics are still being finalized, Whitfield said, but tentative hours have been established for the program. People can visit firehouses between 9 a. m. and 4 p. m. seven days a week. The hours eventually may be revised slightly, but officials said the goal calls for offering the outreach efforts at least six hours each day.

bmeyer@buffnews.com