A new telephone lifeline has been launched to help elderly and vulnerable residents in Stone and across Stafford Borough stay healthy and warm this winter.
Stafford Borough Council has teamed up with the Community Council of Staffordshire and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service to set up a ‘one stop shop’ telephone service.
The number is 01785 242525.
The service will provide advice on how best to keep warm during the cold weather, help finding cheaper fuel prices, advice on claiming benefits and in some cases emergency heating repairs and home energy improvements.
It is one of a range of initiatives the borough council is involved in to help vulnerable residents over the winter period. For example it has recently joined forces with local charity ‘House of Bread’ to help deliver food parcels to those struggling to get to shops in freezing weather.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, meanwhile, has urged people in Stone to book a free Home Fire Risk Check for their elderly family members or neighbours.
Head of Risk Reduction Glynn Luznyj said: “We all know elderly people whether they be grandparents, parents, neighbours or friends – and we have a responsibility to ensure these people are safe from fire. We’re asking people to think how they would feel if an elderly person they knew died in a fire, or had their home and life-long possessions lost in a house fire, knowing it could have been prevented if they’d received a free Home Fire Risk Check from us.
“It’s a really shocking fact that we’ve had 18 fire deaths over the last three years involving elderly people and unfortunately this reflects the trend of other years. Older people are less able to escape from fires and it is also worrying that unless something is done, the number of deaths from fire could increase, as our population becomes older and consequently more vulnerable to the risks from fire.”
Call 0800 0241 999 to book a free Home Fire Risk Check with the fire service or go to www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk/bookyourhfrc.asp
