Area towns receive grants to teach fire safety

Date: 2/24/2021

GREATER SPRINGFIELD – The Baker-Polito Administration has announced almost $2 million in grants for elementary school fire education programs and fire safety grants for older populations. The Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E) and Senior SAFE grants were awarded to 239 communities in Massachusetts. According to the state, child deaths due to fires have decreased by 78 percent since the S.A.F.E. program began in 1996.

Among the municipalities which received the grants, Hampden and Wilbraham both were awarded $4,692 for S.A.F.E. and $2,480 for Senior SAFE. Longmeadow and East Longmeadow each received $5,281 for S.A.F.E. and $2,680 Senior SAFE. The grant amount is determined by population.

The S.A.F.E. grants are used to fund, “your ‘Stop, Drop and Roll,’ exit strategies and basic fire safety,” Longmeadow Fire Lt. Carl Viera said. East Longmeadow Fire Chief Paul Morrisette explained the funds are used to purchase the updated materials from the National Fire Protection Association, which has developed the S.A.F.E. program over the years. It also pays overtime for firefighters to go into the classroom and teach the curriculum.

“We have a pretty comprehensive program,” Morrisette said. “Our goal is to hit kindergarten through fifth grade every year.” He said the nearly annual grant pays off, too. “We find kids sometimes teaching their parents,” he commented.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Viera said, the departments would have to “get creative” in how they teach school children about fire safety and work around when schools are open.

The Senior SAFE program is targeted at older residents, as the name implies. Wilbraham Fire Chief Michael Andrews said that they go to senior living communities and the senior center to educate adults on fires that can happen in the home.

“We do see cooking mishaps. People will leave something on the stove and get caught up doing something. Thankfully, we haven’t seen too many turn into something worse,” Andrews told Reminder Publishing.

In addition to the programs that East Longmeadow runs at the Council on Aging, such as fire protection, home safety and fall protection, “We do residential home inspections on request or if we hear a complaint from a caregiver,” Morrisette said.

Viera said that Longmeadow uses the funding to purchase smoke and carbon monoxide detectors for senior residents who need them. They also provide senior safety products, such as lockboxes, which allow the fire department to enter a home in case of an accident or injury without forcing entry.

“There’s a further need and desire in the community,” for safety products, rather than fire safety education, Viera said of Longmeadow.

Overall, Andrews said that the funding helps the fire department “get the word out”  about fire safety to the most vulnerable populations.