The Watertown Fire Department is excited to announce our receiving S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE Grant funds from the state for the second year in a row.
We have received $5,407 for S.A.F.E (Student Awareness of Fire Education) and $2,813 for Senior SAFE. Over the past year we were able to visit each third grade classroom in the district to educate the students on several topics including smoke and CO alarms, home escape planning, crawling low under smoke, and match and lighter safety. With the receipt of this year’s funds we hope to continue our efforts with the third grade and work on expanding to other grade levels. The funds will also help the fire department train more firefighters as Public Fire and Life Safety Educators through the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.
This past year Senior SAFE funds were used to fund an in-home visit program for seniors. This past year we visited 20 homes and installed nearly 50 smoke alarms and 50 carbon monoxide alarms. Seniors are one of our most at risk populations with regards to fire deaths across the state. Smoke and CO alarms provide early warning in the event of an emergency allowing for time to get out safely. This year we look to continue this program. I urge any resident over 65 years old to contact Capt. Ryan Nicholson at 617-972-6513 to set up their visit.
In addition to the in-home visits, Capt. Nicholson will continue his monthly visits to the Watertown Council on Aging. Starting in March the visits will move from the third Tuesday to the fourth Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. During his time at the senior center Capt. Nicholson typically discusses topics that are of interest to the audience and related to fire and life safety. He frequently brings guests to join him where relevant and always provides donuts!
The safety of our citizens is a top priority of the Watertown Fire Department. These grant awards will allow us to continue our efforts in working to create a community that is educated on fire and life safety issues and their importance.