COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON 02133
Senator Joan B. Lovely
State Senator
2nd Essex District
Representative Jamie Zahlaway Belsito
State Representative
4th Essex District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 3, 2022
Topsfield Fire Department Receives S.A.F.E and Senior SAFE Program Grants
BOSTON– On February 17th, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that 234 municipal fire departments across the Commonwealth would be receiving $1.8 million in grant funding to support fire education programs for children and the elderly. Awards were distributed through the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services’ Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E) and Senior SAFE grant programs.
The Topsfield Fire Departments was 1 of the 227 communities that received both S.A.F.E and Senior SAFE grants.
| Fire Department Name | FY22 S.A.F.E Grant | FY22 Senior SAFE Grant |
| Topsfield Fire Department | $4,575 | $2,855 |
“Education is key to fire prevention and knowing how to timely and safely react if you or your loved ones find yourselves in a fire emergency is critical,” said Senator Joan B. Lovely (D-Salem). “The S.A.F.E and Senior SAFE programs support our most vulnerable populations, our children and seniors, and gives them the tools necessary to live safe and healthy lives. I am deeply grateful that our local fire departments received this funding and know that our communities are better off because of it.”
“Chief Collins Brown and her team have been educating our youth and seniors on fire safety for years. My elementary school-aged children still talk about what they learned from the Topsfield Fire Department in pre-school. The Topsfield Fire Department’s commitment to educating our community on fire safety has had a lasting impact and saves lives. This is a well-deserved grant for Topsfield,” said Representative Zahlaway Belsito.
The S.A.F.E program was created in 1996 to give local fire departments the opportunity to teach fire and life safety to children in schools. Since that time, the average number of child fire deaths has dropped by 78%, with the last child fire death occurring in March of 2019.
Following the success of the S.A.F.E program, the Senior SAFE program was launched 8 years ago with the goal of providing firefighters with the funding to educate seniors, who are most at risk of fire related deaths. Under the Senior SAFE program, our seniors are educated on fire prevention, home safety and how to be prepared in the event of a fire.
The full list of recipient departments and their awards is available online. To learn more about fire service grant opportunities visit https://www.mass.gov/info-details/grants-for-fire-departments.