Four Berkshire Communities Receive SAFE Grants
STOW— Dalton, Lanesborough, North Adams, and Pittsfield received Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) and Senior SAFE Grant funding to support fire education programs for children and older adults
"The Department of Fire Services' S.A.F.E. grant program continues to make effective fire safety education available to hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts kids," said Governor Charlie Baker. "Thanks in part to these grants, Massachusetts has raised a generation of fire-safe families and we are glad to continue those efforts with today's awards."
Dalton Fire Department will receive $4,575 to partner with local schools to teach fire safety. They will also receive $2,855.00 for senior center presentations and home visits with smoke/CO alarm installations.
Lanesborough Fire Department will receive $3,675.00 to be used to teach fire safety lessons to pre-K5 and high school students. They also will get $2,555.00 for senior center presentations and home visits with smoke/CO alarm installations.
The North Adams Fire Department will receive $4,502.00 to teach all pre-K-12 students various fire safety topics and
$2,781.00 for senior center presentations and home visits with smoke/CO alarm installations.
The Pittsfield Fire Department will receive $6,275.00 to partner with local school system to teach fire safety and $3,255.00 for presentations, battery replacements, and smoke/CO alarm installations.
Fire departments in 227 communities will receive Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) and Senior SAFE grants; one community will receive a S.A.F.E. grant only; and six communities will receive Senior SAFE grants only.
"The Department of Fire Services' S.A.F.E. grant program continues to make effective fire safety education available to hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts kids," said Governor Charlie Baker. "Thanks in part to these grants, Massachusetts has raised a generation of fire-safe families and we are glad to continue those efforts with today's awards."
The average number of children dying in fires annually has dropped by 78 percent since the S.A.F.E. Program began – a decline almost 30 percent greater than the decline in fire deaths overall. In light of that success, the Department of Fire Services launched the Senior SAFE Program to provide firefighters with funding to deliver fire safety education to older adults, who face a disproportionate risk of dying in a fire.
"Fire safety education works," said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Terrence Reidy. "The S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE grant programs allow trained and trusted firefighters to make a direct connection with youngsters and older adults in their own communities. These grants are an outstanding example of state and local partnerships."
The S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE programs are funded through legislative earmarks to the Executive Office of the Public Safety & Security, and they are administered by the Department of Fire Services. A full list of recipient department and their awards can be found here.
"The fire departments delivering these safety messages are reducing the risk of fire, injury, and tragedy in cities and towns across the Commonwealth," said State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey. "No child has died in a Massachusetts fire since March of 2019, and fire deaths overall continue to trend downward. Programs like S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE are among the reasons Massachusetts is one of the most fire-safe states in the nation."
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