The Wareham Fire District has received a total of $8,100 in state grant funding to teach seniors and school children about fire safety. 

3rd Bristol and Plymouth Senator Marc Pacheco announced the funding, which comes from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services. Fire departments within Pacheco’s district received a total of $78,000 in grant funding for fire safety programming. 

$5,700 of the funding for the Wareham Fire District will go to the Student Awareness of Fire Education, or SAFE, program. 

The SAFE program provides grants to local fire departments to teach fire and life safety to children in schools, including programs created in collaboration with school teachers. Since the SAFE program began in 1996, child fire deaths have dropped significantly in Massachusetts.

“This grant funding is crucial to educating children on the dangers of fire and providing them with lifesaving safety training they will remember for the rest of their lives,” said Senator Pacheco. “For nearly three decades now, the SAFE program has been proven to save lives and keep children safe.”

In addition, the Wareham Fire District received $2,400 for the Senior SAFE program, which is for fire departments to teach fire safety to seniors who face fire and burn risks, including cooking, smoking, home oxygen use, and electrical and heating dangers.