Acton Fire Department Awarded $8K Grant

ACTON— Representatives Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) and Cory Atkins (D-Concord), and Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) announced that the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services awarded the Acton Fire Department grants totaling $8,018 through the Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) and Senior Safe Grant Programs, which are designed help local fire departments provide adolescent and senior fire prevention training.

“I was pleased to join my colleagues to include the Senior SAFE program in the FY’14 state budget, as the S.A.F.E. grant program has proven to successfully reduce average annual child fire deaths for almost twenty years,” said Representative Benson. “These funds will allow the Acton Fire Department to continue providing fire safety education programs to not only children in K-12, but seniors in the community.”

“Teaching people to protect themselves and others from fire danger is important,” said Representative Atkins. “While we hope they will never have to use the skills they learn in the S.A.F.E. program, acquiring those skills is necessary for their safety. I am proud that Acton received this grant for a program that has proven to work.”

“I applaud the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services for securing this grant funding to help provide fire safety education for children in K-12 and seniors,” said Senator Eldridge. “I am pleased that these funds will enable the Acton Fire Department to be able to continue teaching life-saving fire prevention programs.”

The Acton Fire Department will receive a FY15 S.A.F.E. Grant in the amount of $5,023. The Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) Program is a state initiative to provide resources to local fire departments to conduct fire and life safety education programs in grades K-12. The mission is to enable students to recognize the dangers of fire and more specifically the fire hazards tobacco products pose.

The department will also receive a FY15 Senior SAFE Grant in the amount of $2,995. The Senior SAFE program was created by the Legislature in the FY ‘14 budget. It is a grant program to local fire departments to support fire and safety education for older adults, those most at risk of dying in fires in our state. Some of the fire and burn risks for older adults include cooking, smoking, home oxygen use, electrical and heating dangers. In addition, Senior SAFE aims to improve the safety of older adult homes. Programs may include the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, testing and replacing batteries in these devices, the installation and checking of house numbers, high end heat limiting devices on stoves, in-hood stove fire extinguishers, nightlights, and other fall prevention interventions where needed to provide the at-risk older adult population in the community. In addition to installing any of these important safety devices, education specific to their circumstances is a crucial component of improving the safety of older adults at home.