Lynnfield Fire Department Awarded $16,400 in State Fire Safety Grants

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Senator Brendan P. Crighton (D-Lynn) joined with Lynnfield Fire Chief Glenn Davis this week to announce the Lynnfield Fire Department has been awarded a total of $16,400 in state grants to purchase protective equipment for its first responders and to provide fire and life safety education outreach to local students and older residents.

The funding includes $9,500 provided under the second round of Fiscal Year 2025 grants awarded through the Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant program, which reimburses fire departments for the purchase of more than 100 types of essential firefighter safety equipment, with an emphasis on items that help departments meet current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. According to Chief Davis, this funding will be used to purchase firefighter turnout gear, including helmets, coats, pants and other personal safety equipment to make sure Lynnfield’s firefighters are protected from hazardous exposures while performing their jobs.

The Lynnfield Fire Department has also been awarded $4,700 under the Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) grant program, which was created by the Legislature in 1995 and has been linked to a 79% decrease in child fire fatalities, along with $2,200 in grant funding under the Senior SAFE program, which was established in 2014 to support safety education programs for older adults.

The SAFE grant program focuses on fire safety and awareness for Lynnfield’s school age population. According to Chief Davis, the program teaches students to recognize the dangers of fire and the fire hazards of tobacco products through 23 key fire safety behaviors taught in developmentally appropriate ways.

Chief Davis noted that cooking, smoking, home oxygen use, and electrical and heating danger pose fire and burns risks for seniors, who are at a high risk of dying in a fire. The Senior SAFE grant program enables the Lynnfield Fire Department to provide fire and life safety education for seniors through outreach at the Town’s senior housing locations and local Senior Center.

"These grants are essential in allowing us to continue our efforts to keep our members safe and educate the public during a very difficult budget year," Chief Davis said.

“We rely on our first responders to keep our communities safe, but they often find themselves exposed to dangerous and hazardous conditions when responding to a call that can place their own personal safety at risk,” said Representative Jones. “This grant funding will go a long way to ensuring the members of the Lynnfield Fire Department have the proper equipment to safely perform their jobs, while also providing critical resources for the department to deliver important fire safety messaging and training directly to Lynnfield’s students and seniors.”

“Making sure that our fire departments have the funding they need to keep our firefighters safe is incredibly important,” said Senator Crighton. “Through these grant awards, the Lynnfield Fire Department will also be able to ensure our students, teachers, and our seniors have the most up to date fire prevention equipment and educational resources.”