Free lockers available for seniors and disabled people

FALL RIVER – When elderly or disabled people face a medical crisis, often just a few inches of wood or vinyl is the only thing separating them from life-saving help – their own locked door.

It can also be nerve-wracking for police officers and emergency responders who have to help them, says Sergeant Ricardo Mourato of the Bristol Police Department in Rhode Island.

“Sometimes we hear them on the other side of the door. Sometimes they don’t respond,” he said. “We try not to kick the doors down, but sometimes we have to.”

Fall River police are participating in a regional program Mourato launched across Rhode Island to make it easier for first responders to gain access to homes in the event of an emergency, simply by entrusting police with a spare key.