Haverhill, North Andover and Groveland Receive Fire Safety Grants to Educate Kids, Seniors

(WHAV News file photograph.)

Fire Departments in Haverhill, Groveland and North Andover were recently awarded state grants for fire education programs for children and older adults.

Grants include Student Awareness of Fire Education, or SAFE, and Senior SAFE.

“The fire departments delivering these safety messages are reducing the risk of fire, injury, and tragedy in cities and towns across the Commonwealth,” said 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 SAFE and Senior SAFE are among the reasons Massachusetts is one of the most fire-safe states in the nation.”

Haverhill Fire Department is receiving $7,575 to teach fire safety lessons to students in grades kindergarten, 2, 3 and high school. It is also receiving $3,455 for senior center presentations and home visits for smoke and carbon monoxide alarm installations.

North Andover Fire Department is receiving $5,175 to teach fire safety in grades K-3 and $3,055 for senior center presentations and home visits.

Groveland was awarded $4,575 for teaching fire safety lessons twice a year to students in pre-k to sixth grade. The town was also given $2,855 for senior center presentations and home visits for smoke and carbon monoxide alarm installations.

Officials said the average number of children dying in fires annually has dropped by 78% since the SAFE Program began—a decline almost 30% greater than the decline in fire deaths overall. In light of that success, the Department of Fire Services launched the Senior SAFE Program to provide firefighters with money to deliver fire safety education to older adults, who face a disproportionate risk of dying in a fire.

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