Local fire departments benefit from state grant awards
Local fire departments received some much needed assistance from the state that will allow them to either purchase new gear or continue important safety programming.
The Healey-Driscoll administration recently announced its final round of fire equipment and fire safety education grants, totaling more than $3 million for more than 300 Massachusetts fire departments. This round of grants will provide $1.63 million in funding to fire departments in 266 communities. In many cases, the reimbursed purchases will help them attain compliance with Occupational Safety & Health administration or National Fire Protection Association safety standards.
Westfield, Southwick, Huntington, Granville and Montgomery were among those communities to receive a piece of that funding.
'Massachusetts firefighters do much more than fight fires — they're out first line of defense in any emergency,' said Governor Maura Healey. 'These grants will help firefighters protect themselves from injury and illness, rescue people in danger and keep our most vulnerable residents safe from fires and other hazards at home. We are proud to be able to support these vital first responders who never hesitate to answer a call for help.'
These awards are drawn from grant programs coordinated by the Department of Fire Services. The Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program reimburses local fire departments for purchases of turnout gear, hoses and nozzles, ballistic protective equipment, gear washers and dryers, thermal imaging cameras, extrication equipment, hazardous gas meters and more.
'Firefighters train tirelessly for every conceivable emergency so that they can be prepared to help those in need,' said Lieutenant Gov. Kim Driscoll. 'Through this program, we acknowledge that tremendous commitment by investing in the equipment they need to be safe in any situation.'
Huntington is the hilltown community with the biggest funding number in this round as they will receive $5,250 through the safety equipment grant program. Huntington Fire Chief Joshua Ellinger told the Westfield News this funding will go toward the purchase of a turnout gear dryer, something that gives the department a boost in efficiency.
'Being a small department we don't have a lot of extra funds to purchase many big-ticket items. I took a look at what was available and what we needed and so we looked at getting a turnout gear dryer for our gear,' Ellinger explained.
Ellinger explained that the department's current gear washer and extractor decontaminates gear after use in the field but gear cannot dry in a conventional dryer which has led to the department air drying their gear in between uses.
'We've been leaving our firefighter gear out to dry and hoping we don't get another call,' Ellinger said. 'It's good for us, it's something we always wanted, and as you can see, we're spending every dollar we can get just to get one dryer that dries two sets of firefighting gear. So that's going to help us be able to respond faster, and our gear will be back in service quicker. Thank goodness we haven't run into the issue [of needing the gear during its air dry] because we're not a municipal department going out on fire calls every day.'
Ellinger added the funding is huge for the department with its limited budget. He noted their budget comes 100% from the Huntington tax base and because of that they need grant funding opportunities such as this in order to make certain big-ticket purchases.
'The FEMA grants, we have no idea how those are going to work going forward with the way things have been going on the national level. Federal grants at the very lease, it's a 5% match for big ticket items, but its highly competitive. We're competing with fire departments from across the country. So, whenever the administration locally comes up with a good grant like this, a no match, it's fantastic. It means everything because our local towns people don't have to raise taxes just to afford an extra $10,000 worth of equipment from the fire department.'
Other Hilltowns receiving this round of funding include Granville and Montgomery, who are receiving $1,855.86 and $2,504 respectively. Southwick will be receiving $3,667.94. S
The Student Awareness of Fire Education — SAFE — Grant Program funds firefighter-educators who deliver age-appropriate fire and life safety education to school-age children. Since the grant's inception in 1995, the number of Massachusetts children who die in fires has dropped to historically low levels, from two dozen or more per year to zero for nearly three consecutive years. This year's awards will deliver more than $1.1 million to 204 local fire departments in the state.
'For 30 years, the SAFE grants have delivered life-saving lessons to Massachusetts kids and teens through our local firefighters,' said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Terrence Reidy. 'This is just one of the powerful local-state partnerships that make Massachusetts one of the safest places in the nation to live, work and raise a family.'
In 2014, DFS launched the Senior SAFE Grant Program, which is geared toward another vulnerable population – older adults, who face a disproportionate risk of death or serious injury in a fire. Nearly $485,000 will support alarm installation, fire safety education, fall prevention strategies and other resources delivered by 203 local fire departments in partnership with local senior centers, councils on aging and other community partners.
'People aged 65 and older are at greatest risk of death or serious injury in a fire at home,' said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine. 'The Senior SAFE grants make a difference by sending trained firefighters to conduct home safety assessments, install or replace smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and help our seniors age in place safety and independently.'
Westfield Fire Department is receiving $1,500 and $2,600 for the SAFE and Senior SAFE grants, respectively. Westfield Fire Deputy Chief Seth Ellis told the Westfield News the funding on the SAFE grant end will be utilized to send someone on staff to become a qualified educator for the program.
'We're actually trying to rebuild a little bit after COVID,' Ellis said. 'The state fire academy runs an educator program for SAFE and through retirements and a couple other things, starting with COVID and continuing a little bit, we no longer have someone in the department that is qualified for that so that's what we went for this year was to fix that deficiency so we can start rebuilding the program.'
Southwick Fire Chief Richard Stefanowicz could not be reached for comment as of press time.
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