STONEHAM — Chief Matthew Grafton is pleased to announce that the Stoneham Fire Department has been awarded $5,281 for the Fiscal Year 2021 Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) Program and $2,680 for the Senior SAFE Program by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.
The Stoneham Fire Department will use the grant money to continue the department’s fire education and prevention program in the schools as well as within the senior community. This funding also supports the work the department does with the Council on Aging to provide Senior Safety Visits to ensure homes are safe. To schedule a visit, please call the Council on Aging at 781-438-1157.
“We are always excited to connect with our community members and educate them on fire prevention and safety,” Chief Grafton said. “These programs are just one way we work to protect the health and safety of the residents we serve, and an important part of the work we do. We are grateful to receive this funding to help continue these programs.”
Funding for the programs allows for specially trained fire educators to work with classroom teachers and seniors to deliver age-appropriate lessons on fire and life safety. The key fire and life safety behaviors in the school-based program meet both the requirements of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Health Curriculum Frameworks and the state Department of Fire Services Curriculum Planning Guidebook.
The average number of children who die in fires each year in Massachusetts has dropped 78% since the program started compared to a similar time frame before it started, according to the state’s Department of Fire Services, which administers the two programs.
The S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE Programs provide $1.9 million through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to local fire departments. The programs are administered by the state’s Department of Fire Services.
To learn more about the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services’ SAFE program, click here.
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