You don't need to remind Canberra bushfires survivor Jack White of the value of seconds.
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When embers rained down on his Duffy house in 2003, fewer than two hours later it was in ashes.
![Hearing-impaired Duffy resident Jack White, 87, now has a special smoke alarm. Photo: Katie Burgess Hearing-impaired Duffy resident Jack White, 87, now has a special smoke alarm. Photo: Katie Burgess](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/01fef751-5a27-4a5a-8a3a-59f810da19d2/r0_0_2000_1130_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
That's why the 87-year-old, who has profound hearing loss, is relieved he can sleep soundly again, after firefighters installed a special deaf smoke alarm in his hallway and bedroom.
Now Mr White will be woken up by a violent vibration underneath his pillow, alerting him to a potential fire.
"If I have my good ear into the pillow, I don't hear much at all. That's where this sort of device is very valuable," Mr White said.
"I've got enough hearing that I can get along but if I happen to be sleeping by myself that's when the real danger can happen. You've only got seconds to get out in that situation."
Mr White is one of 25 seniors who are deaf or hearing impaired who will receive the free smoke alarms over the next week.
ACT Fire and Rescue station officer Peter Coble pushed for their rollout, after he installed one provided free by the ACT Deafness Resource Centre in the home of a woman who couldn't hear her audio smoke alarm piercing the night.
"You can't smell the smoke when you're asleep, you lose that sense. People with hearing impairment [can't hear, can't see] when they're sleeping. This then gives them the sense of touch. It vibrates the bed and tells them there's something going on and gets them out of the house," Mr Coble said.
Mr Coble said the scheme is targeted at over-65s who aren't covered by the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
"The units are anything from $600 to $900 depending on how many detectors you put in which basically puts it out of the ball park for most people to buy," he said.
Pete Halsey, chief executive of the ACT Deafness Resource Centre, said one in three people aged over 65 are hearing impaired.
"In the ACT it's one in six," he said.
He said people who are deaf or have hearing loss are "very vulnerable", particularly in an emergency.
"You've only got to put on a pair of ear protectors and go to sleep. Or go for a walk on a dark night. Suddenly you can't hear if someone's behind you, you can't hear if someone's around you. That's where the vulnerability comes in," Mr Halsey said.
Emergency services minister Simon Corbell said the alarms "greatly increases the chance of survival" for the recipients in the case of a fire.