DIGHTON – Chief Christopher Maguy is pleased to announce that the Dighton Fire Department has been awarded nearly $7,000 to support its Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) and Senior SAFE programs by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.
The Dighton Fire Department will use the money to fund fire prevention and education programs in the town’s schools and within the senior community. The S.A.F.E. program was awarded $4,693.31 in state funding, while the Senior S.A.F.E. program received $2,185.02.
“It is no coincidence that as we’ve increased public education and awareness efforts around fire safety and prevention, especially with vulnerable populations, that injury and death rates associated with fires have dropped drastically,” Chief Maguy said. “On behalf of the men and women of the Dighton Fire Department, I thank the Department of Fire Services and Healey-Driscoll Administration for their continued belief in the importance of programs like these.”
This funding gives fire departments the ability to work with students in classrooms and local seniors, providing fire and life safety lessons tailored for each age group. The lessons taught in the school-based program are in line with the standards of both the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Health Curriculum Frameworks and the state Department of Fire Services Curriculum Planning Guidebook.
The rate of annual child fire deaths has decreased by 78% since the introduction of the S.A.F.E. program within schools nearly 30 years ago, 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 in grant funding through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to local fire departments annually.
To learn more about the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services’ S.A.F.E. program, click here.
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