Systems and methods designed to detect a human being falling as opposed to an inanimate object. Generally, the systems and methods will utilize a depth camera, which will often image in the NIR spectrum to detect a falling object. The portion detected as a falling object will often be detected as separating from a point cloud indicative of one object in contact with another. Should such a separation be detected, the systems and methods will utilize a thermal sensor, often a camera imaging in the LWIR spectrum, to determine if the falling portion has a heat signature indicative of a human being.