HOLYOKE — The Healey-Driscoll administration announced that more than 300 Massachusetts fire departments, including Holyoke, will receive grants to support safety equipment for firefighters and life safety education for kids and older adults.
The awards are drawn from three grant programs coordinated by the Department of Fire Services.
The Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program reimburses local fire departments for purchases of turnout gear, hazardous gas meters, SCBA components, accountability systems, thermal imaging cameras, and more.
The Student Awareness of Fire Education Grant Program funds firefighter-educators who deliver age-appropriate fire and life safety education to school-age children.
In 2014, the DFS launched the Senior SAFE Grant Program, which is geared toward another vulnerable population — older adults, who face a disproportionate risk of death or serious injury in a fire.
The Holyoke Fire Department received approximately $7,200 from the SAFE program and $2,600 from the Senior SAFE program.
Holyoke Fire Capt. David Rex discussed how the grants will be used and can benefit the community.
He said the SAFE grant and Senior SAFE grant will be used for educational purposes when dealing with the youth and elderly.
“Anytime you see us out at any of the fairs or any of the school events, if you see the Holyoke Fire Department there with like a table, part of the SAFE grant pays for the firefighters that are there and a lot of it is to buy, I’ll call it swag that we give out,” Rex said.
Part of the “swag” includes potholders, calendars and coloring books so that children can learn fire safety on their own in an interactive way.
For equipment, Holyoke received $11,660, which Rex explained will be used in many ways including three EV plugs, three new thermals imagers and eight new floor gas meters.
Having these tools is “invaluable,” according to Rex and the education grants allows the department to meet with the community and answer their questions in a non-emergency situation.
The EV plugs are used for electric vehicles. Rex explained that when an electric car gets into an accident, you may not know if it’s in drive or not, so first responders can insert the plug into the charging port and it tricks the car into thinking it is charging and puts it in park.
The thermal imagers are used to help firefighters find fire and heat behind walls, search for victims during an initial search or find hotspots when it comes to electrical issues.
Rex explained, “They’re kind of a versatile tool for us that we use for everything. The EV plugs are kind of specific, but everything else is nice and versatile and we could use it on a variety of calls.”
The floor gas meters are used to check for carbon monoxide or natural gas, and it also displays the oxygen content.
Rex said they are used on a variety of calls to either respond to a carbon monoxide call or alert the firefighters that it is safe to take off their masks and air pass.
He talked about how beneficial the grants will be in helping the department and community.
“It’s tough for us to get the extra funding you need sometimes, so to be able to compete for this grant, receive the money, knowing that you can bring another tool in the tool box to help out the community, that’s what we’re here for,” Rex said, “The more tools that we can give our firefighters, the more education we can give our customers, the public when it comes to the education material; it helps us do our job, makes things easier.”
