Burlington Fire Department Receives State Grants to Support Purchase of New Equipment and Fire Education

BURLINGTON — The Burlington Fire Department has procured two state grants that will be utilized to purchase new equipment and bolster community education programs.

Burlington Fire received a $19,000 grant through the Department of Fire Services (DFS) Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program to improve safety equipment. The grant received by Burlington was among $5 million in grants provided to fire departments across the Commonwealth to improve firefighter safety.

The funding, which was secured by retired Assistant Chief Steve McLean, was used for the purchase of two new pieces of Hurst E-draulic equipment, a cutter and a spreader. These tools are often referred to as “jaws of life,” and will be utilized by the Burlington Fire Department in their responses to motor vehicle crashes that require extrication.

The second grant the Department received was a $7,921.82 grant through the Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) program through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which includes $5,558.54 for the student SAFE program and $2,363.28 for the Senior SAFE program. This grant was applied for and secured by Burlington Fire Lt. Todd Ficociello.

The SAFE program provides grants to local fire departments to teach fire and life safety to children in schools, including fire protection education lessons that increase in complexity with each grade level. Since the SAFE program began in 1996, child fire deaths have dropped significantly in Massachusetts, according to the Department of Fire Safety.

Senior SAFE is a similar program that aims to reduce fire-related deaths among senior residents. Fire and life-safety programs are shared at senior centers, councils on aging and home visits, and can include services like smoke and carbon monoxide alarm replacement, fall-prevention education and more.

The Fire Department will use the SAFE funding to make visits to third, sixth and tenth-grade classrooms to teach students about fire hazards, protective measures, kitchen safety and more. The funding will also go toward paying instructors to teach students and purchasing educational tools for the visits, such as pencils and coloring books.

The Senior SAFE program funding will be used to further senior residents’ education on burn safety and prevention, electrical safety, and hoarding and fire safety.

“I would like to thank former Assistant Chief McLean and Lt. Ficociello for procuring these grants, which will best equip us to both respond to serious incidents and provide community members across all age groups with a thorough education on fire prevention and safety,” said Chief James Browne.