Call24 helped save man’s life

The end terraced house in Crownhill, Plymouth, was occupied by an elderly man and although his smoke detector was giving him early detection warnings, he didn’t seem to think there was a problem, so after he activated his telecare alarm unit the operator at Call24 decided to call the emergency services.

Call24 has a direct line into the emergency services and was therefore able to trigger the alarm very quickly.

The incident happened at 5 am in the morning and the firefighters were assisted with their entry to the property after being alerted by Call24 that a man was inside.

Using breathing apparatus, the man was carried out from his bedroom. Paramedics from the South Western Ambulance Service treated him at the scene. He has been left seriously injured with burns to arms, legs and chest and is believed to be at a specialist burns unit at Bristol Frenchay Hospital.

Fire investigators have been carrying out a study of the scene and report that extensive damaged caused to the property.

Jeremy Tudor is Call24’s Managing Director. He said:“We have an exceptional team at Call24 and they have all been trained to act quickly.It means that people can have faith in the knowledge that one press of the alarm button will bring instant help.”

“This coupled with the fact that the Fire Service had fitted two smoke alarms meant that help for this elderly man was soon on hand. We wish him a speedy recovery.”

Fire service spokesman Paul Slaven said: “We are extremely grateful for the swift and professional actions of Call24 staff in calling us out to this incident. Without their early invention, this incident could have been even more serious.

“We understand that people don’t like to bother us unnecessarily, but we would rather be called out to an incident that doesn’t turn out to be serious than not be called to one that does.

“Working smoke alarms give a vital early warning of a fire and if anyone does experience a fire in their home, they should get out, stay out, and call 999.”

Call24 provides services to over 9000 people, primarily throughout the South West of England. These services provide support which helps potentially vulnerable people maintain their independence in the community.

A simple to use pendant alarm system means that assistance is readily available, 24 hours a day. Upon the activation of one of the alarm sensors or at the touch of a button, customers are connected to one of the response centre staff who offer appropriate support and advice. This can include contacting a family member or friend, or if necessary, alerting the emergency services.

Call24 is based in Plymouth, Devon and has been providing a 24hour, 7 days a week call response service for 25 years. They are very proud of the dedicated and caring response they offer to those who have had to use their telecare alarms for prompt assistance. The response centre is a friendly place to work. It uses up-to-date call response computer software so that calls are dealt with as calmly and efficiently as possible. And that is not just us saying that, their customers also agree. Every year they ask them what they think of the service and for this year the results were