Beverly, Danvers Awarded $18K In MA Fire Safety Grants

DANVERS, MA — Students and seniors in Beverly and Danvers will learn valuable fire safety and carbon monoxide lessons through $18,000 in state grants awarded this week.

State Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) announced the Student Awareness of Fire Education and Senior SAFE grants , with Beverly set to receive $7,200 in SAFE and $2,600 in Senior SAFE grants, and Danvers set to receive $5,693.55 in SAFE and $2,371.85 in Senior SAFE grants.

"Fire safety is a fundamental of public safety, and it is crucial that we are educating our most vulnerable populations on the best practices to keep them and their families safe," Lovely said. "SAFE and Senior SAFE are key in these efforts, providing training that prevents tragedies and saves lives."

SAFE grants fund trained firefighter-educators who provide age-appropriate fire and life safety education to the public. The grants focus on school-age children, providing fire safety, prevention, and protection education that increases in complexity with each grade level.

Senior SAFE grants support fire, carbon monoxide, and other life safety education programs for older adults, particularly at senior centers, councils on aging, and through home visits. These programs may also include services like smoke and carbon monoxide alarm replacement, fall prevention education, and more.

Lovely's office said the SAFE grant program has been issued annually since 1995 and has been linked to a 79% decrease in child fire fatalities. The Senior SAFE program, in effect since 2014, addresses the alarming number of older adults who are injured or killed in home fires.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)