Published in the Pawtucket Times on July 9, 2001

Over the years, Maxx volunteered to work with disadvantaged youth and was actively involved with his synagogue. But when House Speaker John B. Harwood appointed the former retailer and court investigator to the Rhode Island Commission on Safety and Care for the Elderly in the mid-1990s, Maxx took on a new role – senior advocate.

By attending commission meetings, he saw first hand how a senior driven group working with police senior advocates could effectively tackle problems to ultimately make life better for older Rhode Islanders.

In 1997, at a meeting of the Pawtucket Senior Citizens Council, held at the Leon Mathieu Senior Center, Maxx pushed for a special committee to bring seniors together with senior police and fire advocates.

After selling his idea, the city’s senior advisory group unanimously passed Maxx’s motion and Mayor James E. Doyle created a 13-member panel of city officials and seniors. The newly created group would be called The Mayor’s Committee on Elderly Fire and Safety Issues.

Although other communities have senior advisory groups, Maxx firmly believes that Mayor James E. Doyle of Pawtucket goes the extra mile. “I know of no other city or town where the mayor will regularly sit down with seniors month after month,” says Maxx.

Maxx’s idea for creating the Mayor’s Committee on Elderly Fire and Safety Issues (commonly referred to as the Fire and Safety Committee) came just at the right time. During Mayor Doyle’s 1977 campaign, from face-to-face meetings with seniors, he learned that many of them were concerned about the safety of elderly who resided in senior complexes or in their homes,” noted Ken McGill, Pawtucket’s government affairs aide.

“The newly created Fire and Safety Committee would look at a wide range of issues, from pot holes in the street, missing stop signs and issues surrounding elderly drivers to fire and safety concerns, stated McGill. “The mayor has appointed a fire official to serve along with the senior police advocate on this group,” he says, noting that this was the first committee to do this.

According to McGill, in 1997 the Fire and Safety Committee supported the mayor’s new initiative called Check-Em program. Over the years they have monitored the effectiveness of the program and promoted it to the city’s senior population.

Wit its initial $ 7,000 price tag for software, today the program makes daily calls to more than 100 seniors residing in city-owned senior complexes or to those in their own homes. “If the person picks up the call that’s the end of it,” said McGill. “However, if no one picks up the phone after two calls the Pawtucket Policy Department will call a designated person. If the senior cannot be reached, then a patrol car will be dispatched to the residence,” he said.

“This program has been very successful and it gives adult children peace of mind that someone is watching out for their elderly parent every day,” said McGill.

In 1998, the City’s Fire and Safety Committee moved to protect the hard of hearing and deaf from fire. With their urging, the City of Pawtucket allocated $ 2,000 to participate in a program sponsored by the Ocean State Center for Independent Living. By the city’s participation in the “Shake-a-Wake” program, 27 Pawtucket seniors who were deaf or hard of hearing received a free smoke detector. When placed under a pillion the sensitive device would vibrate if smoke was detected, waking up the sleeper who could not hear the alarm.

Two tragic fire deaths in the senior complexes in 1999 caused the City’s Fire and Safety Committee to act.  McGill stated that more than 5,000 fire safety tip brochures were distributed to every resident tenant in 14 senior complexes. This project spun off another initiative, called “Smoke Where It’s Safe Solution” or SWISS. The educational outreach initiative brought the Pawtucket Fire Department into every senior complex to tell seniors of the dangers of smoking while lying in bed or sitting in a chair.  Additionally, the elderly tenants were told what to do if a fire was detected in their building.

“During the year 2000 ‘I’m Ok’ door knockers were also printed courtesy of Med-Tech Ambulance Company and distributed throughout the city-owned elderly complexes,” noted McGill. The door knockers have a.m. and p.m. printed on each side. Floor captains can now go on their rounds each morning and evening to see if the door knockers are changed to reflect the time of day. No changes in the sign will result in a knock on the door, he says.

McGill stated the Fire and Safety Committee also sprung into action in 2000 after a gas leak at Slater House in Pawtucket. The group expressed concern to the Pawtucket Fire Department about the small Knox boxes located outside of the city’s senior complexes. The boxes were only large enough for one key for the fire department to gain access to the complex.

After contacting all senior complex property managers and requesting them to install a Knox vault to allow placement of more items including a list of tenants, several complied.

Lou Brennan, 73, a former bookkeeper and Pawtucket resident, has been a member of the Fire and Safety Committee since its inception. “The success is due to the hard work of its members,” Brennan says. “We’re the eyes and ears of the elderly in the City of Pawtucket. What we see and hear we bring back to the table and the mayor and other city officials act on them for our benefit.”