Wakefield Delegation Announces $3,900 for Fire Safety Grants

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representatives Kate Lipper-Garabedian and Donald Wong are pleased to announce that the Wakefield Fire Department has been selected to receive $3,900 from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s (EOPSS’s) Department of Fire Services (DFS) for fire safety education grants for school-age children and older adults.

The department is receiving a $1,500 Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) Grant to promote fire and life safety programs in local schools and a $2,400 Senior SAFE Grant to support fire safety outreach to our older residents.

These programs have proven effective and are an important way to keep our communities safer. Since SAFE was first launched in 1995 to teach students about fire safety, the number of children who die in fires has dropped dramatically.

“Fire safety education and prevention resources are important to keeping our communities safe, especially for young people and older residents,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “I’m pleased that the Wakefield Fire Department is receiving this state support to keep up their great work educating the public about fire safety and prevention.”

"I am glad that the Wakefield Fire Department has been awarded this state grant to promote fire and safety education in schools and fire safety outreach to older adults in the community," said State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian. "With children and older adults being most vulnerable to harms from fires, this state funding will be crucial to ensuring the safety of these members of our community."

“I'm happy that the Wakefield Fire Dept. is receiving this grant that will educate not only our seniors, but also our school aged children,” said State Representative Donald Wong. “The importance of learning fire safety could save many lives in what could be a dangerous situation.”

“The Wakefield Fire Department is pleased to be the recipient of this SAFE grant to help educate our school children and older adults about fire safety,” said Wakefield Fire Chief Michael Sullivan. “Funding provided for under this grant will allow the department to conduct programs that target these two high-risk groups that would be more difficult to accomplish without this funding.”