The firehouse guide to staying warm, safe & found — for seniors who live by themselves. Five simple checklists that cover the five ways winter hurts people who live alone.
I spent thirty-four years on the job in northern Ohio. Winter is the busiest season a firehouse has — and mostly not because of big dramatic blazes. Because of small things. A space heater pushed too close to a bedspread. A generator running in the garage "just for a minute." A man who slipped on his own back step and lay on the concrete for hours because nobody expected to hear from him until Sunday.
Almost every one of those calls could have been prevented with something simple. A three-foot circle. A twenty-dollar alarm. A phone call at the same time every morning. Nobody had ever sat down and walked those folks through it, that's all.
So I wrote it all down — room by room, month by month, in plain words and big checklists you can actually check off with a pen. You don't have to do it all in one weekend. One chapter a day. The starred items first.
— Walt
Each chapter ends with a Captain's Checklist. The starred items are the ones that save lives — do those first.
The full guide: five chapters, five Captain's Checklists, about 50 pages (PDF).
The same book in big, easy-to-read type (about 76 pages). Easier on the eyes, easier to print.
11 fill-in cards and checklists: Fridge Emergency Card, Who to Call, Medicine List, Daily Check-In Plan, 72-Hour Storm Checklist, Storm Kit list, Space Heater Rules, Home Escape Plan, "If I Fall" card, Monthly Walk-Through and Alarm Log.
Make copies for your check-in person, your neighbor, your kids. That's what they're for.
All of it, one time: $37
It also makes a thoughtful gift: print it and bring it to a parent, a grandparent or a neighbor who lives alone.
Every safety rule in this guide follows public guidance from the people whose whole job is keeping folks safe. The full source list is printed at the back of the book.
This guide is general safety information. It is not medical, legal or electrical advice and does not replace your doctor, your local fire department or your appliance instructions. In an emergency, call 911.
If the guide isn't what you hoped for, email us within 30 days of your purchase and we'll refund you in full. No questions, no forms, no hard feelings.
No — it's a digital guide (PDF) you download right after checkout. You can read it on a computer, tablet or phone, or print it at home or at a print shop. Nothing is shipped.
After you pay, you'll get an email with a download button. Click it and the guide opens. If anything goes wrong, write to [email protected] and we'll help — or send it to a family member's email instead.
Yes, as many copies as your family needs. The printables are designed for standard US Letter paper.
Yes. You get both the standard and the large-print edition for the one price.
No. You pay once ($37) and the guide is yours to keep.
Captain Walt Brennan is the storyteller and narrator of our YouTube channel and of this guide. The firehouse stories are told to make the lessons stick; the safety advice itself follows the agencies listed above.
Email [email protected] within 30 days of your purchase. You'll get a full refund to your original payment method.
One chapter a day. The starred items first. One phone call tomorrow at nine o'clock.
Get the Winter Guide — $37Instant download · 30-day money-back guarantee