LYNNFIELD — The Fire Department has received $7,430 in state grants from the Baker-Polito administration to provide fire-safety outreach to the town’s students and seniors.
“We are fortunate to be able to receive these funds to help educate our schoolchildren as well as our seniors, with regards to fire safety,” said Lynnfield Fire Lt. Jeff Fiorentino. “COVID has really slowed things down the last year or so, but we are looking forward to being able to get back out there. Public education is a part of fire prevention, which holds a key role in the fire service.”
Lynnfield will receive $4,575 as part of the Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) program. The Fire Department will use these funds to teach fire safety in the town’s public schools.
The program is designed to reach students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Age-appropriate lessons are taught to these students that cover a variety of topics, such as stop, drop/cover and roll; home-escape planning; cooking safety; and distracted driving.
Fiorentino said the Fire Department will also partner with the Police Department this spring to stage a mock-car crash at the high school.
Another $2,855 has been allocated to the department through the Senior SAFE program, which will help fund senior-center presentations and home visits to assist seniors with smoke- and carbon-monoxide alarm installations.
Fiorentino said the program also provides medication-disposal bags, home-safety surveys, lockboxes for quick access, and the File of Life portal, which consists of emergency-medical forms that assist emergency responders with a patient’s pertinent medical information.
House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. said that the S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE programs have proven to be highly effective in raising awareness of fire prevention among the state’s school-age children and older residents.
“With this grant funding, the Lynnfield Fire Department will be able to continue to impart valuable lessons to some of the town’s most vulnerable citizens on how they can ensure their own personal safety and the safety of their loved ones in the event of a fire,” Jones said.
“Teaching fire safety helps save lives,” added state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn). “S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE continue to play a vital role in educating children and seniors on preventing fires and handling emergency situations.”
Since 1996, the S.A.F.E. program has provided state funding to municipal fire departments on an annual basis to promote fire-safety education in schools. Eight years ago, Massachusetts launched the Senior SAFE program to support fire-safety training for seniors, who are considered to be among the most at-risk groups for dying in a fire.
Both programs are administered by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services within the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
According to the Department of Fire Services, the average number of children dying in fires annually has dropped by 78 percent since the S.A.F.E. program began. This represents a decline that is nearly 30-percent greater than the decline in overall fire deaths.
“Fire-safety education works,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Terrence Reidy. “The S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE grant programs allow trained and trusted firefighters to make a direct connection with youngsters and older adults in their own communities. These grants are an outstanding example of state and local partnerships.”
“The fire departments delivering these safety messages are reducing the risk of fire, injury, and tragedy in cities and towns across the commonwealth,” added State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey. “No child has died in a Massachusetts fire since March of 2019, and fire deaths overall continue to trend downward. Programs like S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE are among the reasons Massachusetts ranks as one of the most fire-safe states in the nation.”
A total of $1.8 million in grants is being distributed to 234 municipal fire departments across Massachusetts in the latest round of funding.
Fiorentino said the ultimate goal is to empower residents with the know-how so they are less likely to have to call 911.
“Every firefighter would much rather teach a child, family or senior citizen what to do to prevent an emergency, and how to handle one if it happens, rather than see them in a bad situation,” he said, explaining that this is best accomplished through partnerships with the town’s public-school district, police department, Council on Aging, and A Healthy Lynnfield.
“These relationships are what makes everything work,” said Fiorentino.
