Westwood Receives Fire Safety Education Grant

Massachusetts awarded Westwood $4,625 in grant funding through the Student Awareness of Fire Education Program for the 2013 fiscal year. The funding will be used to implement fire safety education programs in the Westwood Public Schools.

“It is important to educate children on Fire Safety Awareness and Prevention, funding for these programs are extremely beneficial inside and outside of the classroom,” Senator Mike Rush said in a press release.

“Raising fire safety awareness for our school children could one day save a life” Representative Paul McMurtry said in a press release.

The S.A.F.E. Program seeks to educate students on the dangers of fire by providing local fire departments with resources to hold fire and life safety education programs in local schools. Firefighters are trained as educators and work closely with classroom teachers and health educators to provide age-appropriate fire safety lessons to students.

The S.A.F.E. Program has led to a decrease of 70 percent in child fire deaths from an average of 18 per year to 5 per year.