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Emergency planning is important for rural people with disabilities
Over 21 years has passed since Ed Bell survived a violent attack. In 1982 he sustained a gunshot wound which left him permanently paralyzed below his collarbones, leaving him totally quadriplegic. After months of intensive therapy, he was able to regained most of the use in his arms and hands. With a close working relationship with the Indiana AgrAbility Project, Breaking New Ground Ed was able to continue his farming operation by modifying his equipment. Ed’s transitioned from raising pigs and started growing produce and truck crops to better accommodate disability. Throughout much of the 1980s Ed grew many acres of sweet corn, green beans and assorted vegetables which he sold retail out of an old barn on his farm. Since 1985, Ed Bell and his family have been raising strawberries on the Indiana farmland that had been in his family for decades. A fire breaking out in a home is never welcome thought to any family but with when a family member has a disability emergency planning takes on a greater level of importance. Ed and his family were prepared in case a fire was to ever breakout in their home. Did they expect it? Hardly. Nevertheless, on a gorgeous fall evening in 1995 the Bell family’s pre-1822 two-story log home caught fire as the result of an electrical short powering a clothes dryer. Exhausted from a hard day’s work on a tractor, Ed had already retired to bed, while his wife Debbie was finishing up the dinner dishes, and their three year old daughter Nellie was watching, of all things, "Barney's Fire Safety" video. Nellie spotted the fire first that began near the enclosed back porch and told Debbie, "Mommy, fire!" Naturally Debbie thought she was talking about the video, but soon noticed the back porch and part of the living room engulfed in flames! Debbie told Ed to call the fire department. Not seeing the flames, Ed's pride stepped in and he told Debbie to just use their kitchen fire extinguisher. Debbie, with Nellie on her hip, began shutting doors and opened the window to their bedroom and exited her way out of their home. It was then that Ed knew that his family’s emergency fire plan had been implementing and that the flames were well beyond amateur fire fighting. Ed then called the fire department and quickly started making his way out too. These were the first steps assuring the Bell’s safe escape from their burning home. Once little Nellie was safely out of the burning home, Debbie remained outdoors to assure their daughter’s safety and to help direct the firefighters to Ed’s location. The family’s only accessible entrance was up in flames, so they carefully took advantage an unused side door nearby with a three-foot drop off to the outside. Ed was able to transfer out of his manual wheelchair into the doorway. Debbie then pulled his empty wheelchair out into the yard which provided Ed a safe transfer back into his chair and allowed him to get away from the burning house. The fire department arrived but by the time the fire was put out the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and porch were gutted. Although the house was a loss, the Bell's were safe and sound and many of their possessions were able to be saved to furnish a newer more accessible home over a year later. There were several key steps that the Bell family took to ensure their safety that frightful evening in October. They made plans to get out; they practiced it, and told neighbors about there plan. They knew the number to the fire department and made sure that the local fire department knew about Ed's disability. Additionally, the Bell’s had working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, a bedroom and bathroom on the first floor for which allowed for an easier exit for Ed. Ed's advice to anyone with a disability is to follow his family's example by making a plan for a safe exit. He also suggests putting aside (a three-day minimum) emergency kit containing medicines, and disability specific related supplies. Ed suggested leaving the emergency kit with a relative, a friend or in a vehicle. He had these supplies at his parent's home nearby which was helpful because of his unique losses in the fire. For insurances purposes it is also suggested that you inventory your supplies and equipment in the case of a loss. Keep a record of expensive wheelchairs and assistive devices with your insurance company. Ed also suggests that you discuss with your family some accessible lodging options in the event of an emergency. The Bell’s miss the character and charm of their old rural Hoosier home but they enjoy the access and comfort their new home provides. Most importantly, the Bell’s continue to practice their family’s emergency preparedness plans that once saved their lives. Ed continues to keep busy as a family man, a farmer, a consultant for the Standing Wheelchair Company, and he travels the country as a motivational speaker. Ed Bell is available for presentations and is eager to answer your questions about his life, his interests and your emergency preparedness. You may contact Ed Bell at:
Ed Bell
16447 State Road 38 -
Hagerstown, IN 47346
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