Firm Ground – Home Fall Safety · iOS 17+
Home fall safety checklist: check your parent's home room by room
Firm Ground is an iPhone and iPad app for adult children. Walk through your mom's or dad's home, answer short checks, measure what matters, and get a report with priorities and a shopping list with sizes already worked out.
Why falls happen in homes that look fine
- More than one in four people over 65 falls every year, and most falls happen at home: in the bathroom, on the stairs, on the way to the toilet at night.
- The home looks fine because everyone is used to it. The rug by the bed, the towel rail used as a grab bar, the dark hallway at 3 a.m. are invisible until someone is on the floor.
- Paper checklists say “install grab bars” but not where, how high or how long. You end up in a hardware store guessing.
- A professional home assessment costs a few hundred dollars and is booked weeks ahead. Most families never get one.
How Firm Ground turns a visit into a plan
98 checks in seven zones
Entrance, stairs and hallway, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and outside the door. Each check is a yes/no question, a photo or a measurement, with a short “why it matters” from CDC STEADI, AARP HomeFit, NIA and ADA/ANSI guidance.
Measurements against the norm
Grab bar 84–91 cm (33–36 in), handrails 86–97 cm (34–38 in), door clear width at least 81 cm (32 in), toilet seat 43–48 cm, step height up to 18 cm. Measure with the camera on ARKit devices or type the value from a tape measure.
Priorities, not a wall of ticks
Every problem gets a red, amber or green mark. The bathroom and stairs come first, then the night path from bed to toilet, then everything else.
A shopping list with sizes
“Grab bar 60 cm, stainless steel, mount horizontally at 84–91 cm beside the toilet” instead of “buy a grab bar”. Take the list to the hardware store or tap to search online.
A PDF report for the family
Cover, summary by zone, each issue with the reason, the fix, your photo and the measurement against the norm, and the shopping list. Print it or send it to your siblings.
Re-check in a year
Mark fixes as done, see what is still open on the widget and get a reminder to walk through again a year later.
Price
Walking through one home and seeing the results on screen is free. Firm Ground Pro is a one-time purchase of $2.99 with no subscription: the PDF report, the full shopping list, more homes (Mom's, Dad's, your own) and the widget.
App StoreComing soon to the App StoreFrequently asked questions
What should be on a home fall safety checklist?
Floors and rugs, lighting (especially the night path to the toilet), stairs with rails on both sides, grab bars in the bathroom, things within reach in the kitchen, and the entrance. Firm Ground covers these in 98 checks across seven zones.
How high should a grab bar be next to the toilet?
The ADA standard places horizontal grab bars 33–36 inches (84–91 cm) above the floor, measured to the top of the bar. Towel rails are not grab bars and can pull out of the wall.
How high should stair handrails be?
34–38 inches (86–97 cm) above the stair nosing, on both sides, extending past the top and bottom steps.
Do I need a LiDAR iPhone?
No. Camera measuring uses ARKit on supported iPhones and iPads; on any device you can type the value from a tape measure.
Does the app replace an occupational therapist?
No. It is a checklist based on public guidance and does not give medical advice. It helps you find and fix the common hazards and prepares good notes if you do see a professional.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no account and no server; homes, photos and answers stay on the device.
Is it a subscription?
No. Pro is a single $2.99 purchase.
Guides and articles
Fall prevention checklist for seniors, room by room
Start with the bathroom and the stairs, then the night path from bed to toilet. Those three places account for the most serious home falls, and most fixes there cost less than a dinner out.
Read →Grab bar height: toilet, shower and tub
Mount horizontal grab bars so the top of the bar is 33–36 inches (84–91 cm) above the floor. Beside a toilet use a bar at least 24 inches (60 cm) long; in a shower add a vertical bar at the entry.
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