For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Attleboro Fire Department Receives Grants to Support Fire Education Programs

ATTLEBORO — Chief Scott T. Lachance is pleased to announce that the Attleboro Fire Department has been awarded two grants that will help support the department’s ongoing Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) programs.

The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services awarded the Attleboro Fire Department grants of $5,454 for its S.A.F.E. Program and an additional $2,800 for its Senior S.A.F.E. Program.

The S.A.F.E. Program is a state initiative designed to provide resources to local fire departments to conduct fire and life safety education programs for children in kindergarten through 12th grade.

The program aims to enable students to recognize fire hazards and teach key safety behaviors that should be used anytime a child comes into contact with a fire. Since the S.A.F.E. program’s inception in 1995, the average annual number of child deaths caused by a fire has fallen by 74 percent in Massachusetts.

Senior S.A.F.E. is a similar program that was created to support fire safety education specifically for older adults, who are most at risk of dying in a fire in Massachusetts. The program builds on the success of the original S.A.F.E. program and helps forge a connection between fire departments and a variety of senior support agencies working in their communities.

The funds will be used to pay for S.A.F.E. programming in the city’s schools and also for Attleboro’s older population through the Attleboro Council on Aging.

“The S.A.F.E. programs are a vital way for our firefighters to meet and speak directly with some of the members of our community in order to teach them valuable information that has been proven to save lives,” Chief Lachance said. “We are thankful to the Department of Fire Services for their continued support as we continue our fire education programs in the city.”

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