MARION – The Marion Fire Department has been awarded $3,794 for the Fiscal Year 2021 Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) Program and $2,180 for the Senior SAFE Program by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

The Marion Fire Department will use the grant money to continue the department's fire education and prevention program in the schools as well as within the senior community.

"These grants will support educational initiatives on fire safety and awareness as we continue to work with both students and seniors within our community," Chief Brian Jackvony said. "We are grateful to the Baker-Polito Administration and the Department of Fire Services for their continued support."

Funding for the programs allows for specially trained fire educators to work with classroom teachers and seniors to deliver age-appropriate lessons on fire and life safety. The key fire and life safety behaviors in the school-based program meet both the requirements of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Health Curriculum Frameworks and the state Department of Fire Services Curriculum Planning Guidebook.

The average number of children who die in fires each year in Massachusetts has dropped 78% since the program started compared to a similar time frame before it started, according to the state’s Department of Fire Services, which administers the two programs.

The S.A.F.E. and Senior SAFE Programs provide $1.9 million through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to local fire departments. The programs are administered by the state’s Department of Fire Services.