SOUTHWICK – This week, the Select Board signed off on two grants that were awarded to the Southwick Fire Department. On December 26, the Southwick Fire Department received a letter from the Baker-Polito Administration that they were one of many municipalities in Massachusetts to be awarded S.A.F.E and Senior S.A.F.E grants.
The Southwick Fire Department received $3,754 for the S.A.F.E grant and $2,400 for the Senior S.A.F.E grant. The S.A.F.E. (Student Awareness of Fire Education) program is through the Executive Office of the Public Safety and Security Department and provides $1.2 million of grants annually. The Senior S.A.F.E. program is focused on helping senior centers throughout the state. The Senior S.A.F.E. program provides $600,000 of funding to those senior centers. The funding for the Senior S.A.F.E. program is provided by fees paid by tobacco companies to the Fire Standard Compliant Cigarette Program.
Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson discusses the two grants that the fire department has received. (WNG File Photo)
Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson is once again pleased with the announcement.
“This (S.A.F.E.) is a great opportunity to continue delivering our fire and health safety messages to students in the schools and day cares,” said Anderson. “We are also very active with various program with the seniors. This will allow us to continue with these programs.”
While Anderson is responsible for deciding what the Senior S.A.F.E. grants get used for, Southwick Council on Aging Director Cindy Sullivan works with Anderson on what new programs to implement to the seniors in town. A key example of using the Senior S.A.F.E grant money is the creation of the house numbering program. A free program that was launched in December of 2017, the house numbering program is for residents 60-years-old or older and involves reflective signs being placed on the driveways of senior citizen’s homes. The house numbers being reflective makes it easier for emergency personnel to respond to 911 calls smoother and more efficiently.
According to the Senior S.A.F.E. Program page, some of the programs that communities should aim to use from the grant money are as follows: smoke and carbon monoxide alarm installation; testing and replacing batteries; installation of house numbers; heating limiting devices on stoves; in-hood stove fire extinguishers; nightlights.
“Any collaboration with the fire department is wonderful, I think we’ve instituted a lot of programs together,” said Sullivan. “The fire department is a great partner with the Council on Aging.”
For more information on both the S.A.F.E. and Senior S.A.F.E. grants, contact the Southwick Fire Department at 413-569-6363.
