Hinds announces fire safety grants for area communities
Boston — Sen. Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, has announced that the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services has awarded a total of $47,803 in fiscal year 2019 Student Awareness of Fire Education and Senior S.A.F.E. grants to public safety departments serving communities within his Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District.
The S.A.F.E. Program provides resources for fire departments to teach fire and life safety to children in schools. The program teaches students to recognize the dangers of fire and the fire hazards of tobacco products through 23 key fire safety behaviors taught in developmentally appropriate ways. Fire and life safety can combine with math, science, language arts, and health or physical education lessons, making it easy to collaborate with schoolteachers. DFS reports that, since the S.A.F.E. program began in 1996, child fire deaths have been reduced by 74 percent in Massachusetts.
Senior S.A.F.E. aims to reduce older adult fire deaths through fire and life safety education. DFS notes that seniors are the most vulnerable of populations at risk of fire-related deaths. Senior S.A.F.E. provides guidance to the Commonwealth’s elders on fire prevention, general home safety and how to be better prepared in the event of a fire.
Berkshire-area departments receiving FY19 S.A.F.E. and Senior S.A.F.E. grants are:
| Fire Department | FY19 S.A.F.E. Grant Award | FY19 Senior S.A.F.E. Grant Award |
| Lanesborough Fire Department | $2,854 | $2,100 |
| North Adams Fire Department | $3,754 | $2,400 |
| Pittsfield Fire Department | $5,454 | $2,800 |
