15 Home-Defense Tricks Retired Firefighters Teach Seniors Living Alone (Cops Never Think of #1)

A firefighter's job is to break into your house. That's exactly why retired firefighters see home safety differently than cops or locksmiths do. Most home-security advice for seniors living alone says the same thing: lock everything, put a key on both sides of the deadbolt, put bars on the windows. The fire code in many places says the opposite, because people die in house fires when they can't unlock their own front door. In this video, a retired firefighter walks you through 15 home-defense tricks that keep trouble out AND let you out. Most of them cost nothing or just a few dollars. In this video: Why your lock almost never fails, and what fails instead The "safe" lock that can trap you in a fire, and what to replace it with Why window bars can turn a bedroom into a trap The key-under-the-mat problem, and the lockbox only responders can open Why your smoke alarm might not wake you, even though you hear it every time you test it The four-word bedtime rule firefighters swear by, and why #1 is the trick cops never mention Every door in your house has two jobs: keep trouble out, and let you out. A lock that only does the first one isn't a lock. It's a trap. Research and sources mentioned: U.S. Fire Administration, Older Adult Fire Death Risk statistics UL Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), "Close Before You Doze" and the 2017 full-scale burn in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania Bruck & Thomas, Victoria University, "Smoke Alarms for Sleeping Adults Who Are Hard-of-Hearing," Ear and Hearing (2009) NFPA & CDC, "Remembering When: A Fire and Fall Prevention Program for Older Adults" NFPA, Home Cooking Fires report History of the Roman vigiles and the New Amsterdam rattle watch This video is for general education only. Building codes and lock rules differ by state and city, so check with your local fire department before changing locks, bars or windows. Many fire departments offer free home safety visits for older adults, and it's worth asking. #HomeSafety #SeniorSafety #LivingAlone #FireSafety #HomeSecurity #CloseBeforeYouDoze #SeniorsLivingAlone