HUDSON – This year, Fire Chief Bryan Johannes will continue to educate Hudson students and seniors about fire safety.
During a Select Board meeting on Jan. 9, the board approved funding from the Student Awareness of Fire Safety Education (S.A.F.E.) program, which provides grants to fire departments to educate students and seniors about fire and life safety.
S.A.F.E. also offers a Senior S.A.F.E. program that aims to educate senior citizens about fire safety. Approximately $4,381 in funding was approved for the student program and $2,277 was approved for the senior program.
“I am always grateful that we have the opportunity to use these funds here in Hudson,” Johannes said.
In a letter addressed to Executive Assistant Thomas Gregory, Johannes said that based on Hudson’s population, the town was originally eligible for $4,100 in funding for the Student S.A.F.E. program and $2,000 for the Senior S.A.F.E. program.
However, because there has been a lack of participation in the programs from other communities, Hudson was able to receive more funding this year.
According to Johannes, Hudson has received funding from the Student S.A.F.E. program each year since its establishment in 1996.
Then, a few years after the Student S.A.F.E. program was founded, the organization began the Senior S.A.F.E. program.
As part of the Senior S.A.F.E. program, Johannes said firefighters visit seniors’ homes to educate them about fire safety, conduct smoke detector battery replacements and installations and collaborate with the senior center to identify who needs assistance.
According to Johannes, the Student S.A.F.E. program specifically assists students with recognizing the dangers of fire and the fire hazards of using tobacco products through 23 fire behaviors. This includes match and lighter safety and kitchen fire and burn safety by also incorporating math, science and English into the program.
“They [the students] bring a lot of information home from these classes that firefighters put on in the schools. The kids end up educating their own families about fire awareness and emergency awareness,” he said.
Johannes said he is “not exactly sure” when firefighters will begin teaching in the schools this year, but he said it will be sometime this spring or next fall.
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