The Project

The Leadership Gilroy Class of 2019 project “Tame the Flame” was a fire-safety initiative focused on protecting one of Gilroy’s most vulnerable population, senior residents living in the Wagon Wheel Mobile Home Park.

The class learned that older adults face the highest risk of dying in a fire. Adults 65 and over account for 35% of all fire deaths in the U.S. Their risk of dying in a fire is nearly three times higher than the general population and for adults 84 and over, the risk increases to 4.6 times higher.

The project combined fundraising and community outreach. The goal was to purchase 500 alarms, with any extras being donated to the fire department for distribution to low-income families.

They partnered with the Gilroy Fire Department to install alarms directly in resident’s homes at Wagon Wheel Mobile Home Park. Installations took place on September 28, 2019.