Colrain begins fire safety education program benefiting seniors, students

Colrain firefighter Alex Lilly with smoke detectors that are available to seniors over the age of 65.

Colrain firefighter Alex Lilly with smoke detectors that are available to seniors over the age of 65. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

Staff Writer

Published: 09-23-2024 12:21 PM

COLRAIN — The Colrain Fire Department is rolling out a program geared toward increasing safety by offering free smoke detectors, lock boxes and classes on what to do during an emergency.

Volunteer firefighter Alex Lilly recently took a trip to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow and became a certified educator with the Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) Program, allowing Colrain to join neighboring fire departments in offering fire safety education. The program offers services both to children in schools and to elderly residents.

Any Colrain resident over the age of 65 can have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors installed for free, as well as lock boxes that will allow firefighters to access a home during an emergency. Additionally, signs with street numbers are available to make homes more visible to first responders in the dark.

Meanwhile, the Fire Department will also be able to offer classes covering topics like safe cooking practices and what to do during an active fire emergency. Lilly added that the Colrain Ambulance crew has been helping seniors to fill out emergency preparedness forms that can alert first responders to any medical conditions they have in cases where a senior may be unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate with emergency personnel.

“In an emergency, you’re not going to be thinking, ‘What should I do?’ You’re going to be thinking, ‘I don’t know what to do,’ so we’re going to make sure they know what do during those situations,” Lilly said.

As head of the Fire Department’s SAFE Program, Lilly is also responsible for teaching students about fire safety in schools. She said her lieutenant suggested she take on the job as it involves a lot of teaching and she is majoring in elementary education.

The SAFE Program is funded through an Executive Office of Public Safety and Security grant. The Shelburne Falls Fire District was awarded $13,400 for the Student SAFE Program and $7,200 for the Senior SAFE Program, and then divided the funding. In all, the Shelburne Falls Fire District, Shelburne Fire Department, Colrain Fire Department and Buckland Fire Department will benefit from the grant award.

Lilly said smoke detectors cost about $50 each, and the grant has allowed the departments to purchase hundreds of them so that no senior has to pay for the potentially life-saving equipment.

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By providing preventative equipment and classes, firefighters aim to reduce the number of emergencies and reduce strain on the department’s limited resources.

“Our Fire Department and ambulance service covers a large area, and we’re all volunteers,” Lilly noted. “Lowering the amount of emergency calls is best for everyone.”

Lilly said the Shelburne Fire Department has been running the program for years, and Shelburne Fire Chief and SAFE Program Coordinator John Taylor was a huge help in setting it up in Colrain.

“I’m really excited about it,” Lilly said.

With questions about the program or to request services, email safe@colrain-ma.gov.