Seniors Get Free Smoke Alarms at Warner Springs Estates
By E.A. Barrera

Christine Meyers, left, and Dana Carnduff install fire safety equipment in senior housing. Photo by Darrel Kinney

The Burn Institute of San Diego and the Fire Safe Council of Stone Ridge at Warner Springs Estates gave the residents of this senior community a nice after-Christmas gift - free smoke alarms. The residents of the Estates - a mobile home park located along the Highway 79 corridor east of Palomar Mountain and roughly 40 miles north-east of Ramona - live in an area that has seen its share of wildfires over the years. Just last Fall, a potentially major wildfire broke out that was contained swiftly by the fire fighting professionals of the California Department of Forestry, who stand watch in the rural hamlet.

According to Donna Lorenz, who is the facilitator of the Estates Fire Safe Council, Fire Safe Councils are formed within San Diego County, as part of a statewide program with more than 10 years of leadership in bringing together private individuals, local organizations, industry groups, government agencies and others for effective preventive action against wildfire.

"We are just getting started here at the Estates," noted Lorenz. "We were just approved as part of the Fire Safe Council association and we currently have a committee of eight members, though we'd love to have more people get involved."

As any resident of San Diego County knows, wildfires are a fact of life for this dry, semi-dessert region. Ramona, Julian, and almost every community of San Diego County was impacted and in some cases devastated by the 2003 Cedar, Paradise and Otay wildfires. Lorenz said that learning to live with wildfire means taking steps and precautions to protect community assets from the sort of potential damage that a fast moving blaze can bring.

"The installation of the fire smoke alarms in our (age) 55-plus (senior) community was one of the programs that the Fire Safe Council at Stone Ridge of Warner Springs Estates implemented - encouraging residents in fire preparedness," said Lorenz.

Lorenz said the free smoke alarms were funded by The Burn Institute of San Diego. She said local Fire Safe Councils can mobilize people in their communities to create powerful advocacy and action group initiatives. Presently there are 48 active Fire Safe Councils implementing programs in fire safety within San Diego County.