FY27 SAFE Senior SAFE Grant Announcement Memo.pdf
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- Solicitation number
- BD-27-1021-DFS-DFS01-133375
- Issued by
- Massachusetts
About this file
This is a grant announcement memorandum from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS), part of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, announcing the Fiscal Year 2027 Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) and Senior SAFE Grant Program. The program provides funding to fire departments in every city, town, fire district, and eligible state authorities across Massachusetts to deliver fire and life safety education to school-aged children through SAFE and to older adults through Senior SAFE. The initiative aims to reduce fire-related injuries and fatalities among vulnerable populations by educating participants on recognizing and reducing risks associated with fire, smoking materials, poisoning, falls, and other emergencies. Applications must be submitted by email to SAFE.FireSafetyDivision@mass.gov no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The application period opened September 10, 2026, with a question submission deadline of September 22, 2026. Award announcements are estimated for the week of October 26, 2026, with the grant performance period ending June 30, 2027, and year-end reports due by July 30, 2027. DFS will host five Microsoft Teams webinars during the application period, with attendance by the fire chief, designated SAFE educator, or grant manager earning applicants 20 points toward their application score.
Eligible fire departments must be in compliance with Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS) and National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) obligations for calendar year 2025 by the application submission deadline. Applications will be evaluated using a scoring rubric outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, with DFS prioritizing funding for applications receiving 80 percent or more of available points; applications scoring below this threshold may receive reduced funding, and those receiving less than 20 percent will not be awarded. Departments that have not received SAFE Program funding during Fiscal Years 2022–2026 may apply for a $1,500 planning grant designed to help build infrastructure, training, curriculum plans, and educational resources; planning grant recipients may not use funds for classroom activities with students. Written student evaluations are required for all grade levels participating in SAFE, with DFS-developed evaluation tools available for third, sixth, and tenth grades. Any unexpended funds must be returned to DFS within 30 calendar days of a notification request.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| FY27 SAFE Senior SAFE Grant Application Form.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| FY2027 SAFE and Senior SAFE Grant Notice Of Funding Opportunity.pdf |
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Text version
Administrative Services • Division of Fire Safety
Hazardous Materials Response • Massachusetts Firefighting Academy
MAURA T. HEALEY
GOVERNOR
KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
GINA K. KWON
SECRETARY
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Department of Fire Services
P.O. Box 1025 State Road
Stow, Massachusetts 01775
Telephone (978) 5673100 www.mass.gov/dfs
JON M. DAVINE
STATE FIRE MARSHAL
MEMORANDUM
To: Heads of Fire Departments
From: Jon M. Davine
State Fire Marshal
Date: September 10, 2026
Re: Fiscal Year 2027 Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) &
Senior SAFE Grant Application Period
I am pleased to announce that the application period for the Fiscal Year 2027 Student Awareness of Fire Education
(SAFE) & Senior SAFE Grant Program is now open.
This funding opportunity is available to fire departments in every city, town, fire district, and eligible state authority across the Commonwealth. The program supports the delivery of fire and life safety education to school-aged children through SAFE and to older adults through Senior SAFE. The goal of the program is to reduce fire-related injuries and fatalities among these vulnerable populations by helping participants recognize and reduce the risks associated with fire, smoking materials, poisoning, falls, and other emergencies.
The FY27 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and FY27 SAFE & Senior SAFE Grant Application Form are attached to this email and are available on the Department of Fire Services website.
Important Grant Information for FY27
Application Deadline
Applications must be submitted by email to SAFE.FireSafetyDivision@mass.gov no later than 5:00 pm on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
Eligibility Requirements
Departments must be in compliance with Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS) / National Emergency
Response Information System (NERIS) obligations for calendar year 2025 by the application submission deadline.
Competitive Award Process
Applications will be evaluated using the scoring rubric outlined in Section IV of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
DFS will prioritize funding for applications receiving 80% or more of the available points. Applications scoring below this threshold may receive reduced funding. Applications receiving less than 20% of the available points will not be awarded funding.
https://mass.gov/doc/fy27-safe-senior-safe-grant-notice-of-funding-opportunity/download https://mass.gov/doc/fy27-safe-senior-safe-grant-application-form/download https://www.mass.gov/info-details/student-awareness-of-fire-education-safe?_ga=2.248726850.43679180.1770062792-1755502577.1770062792&_gl=1*pg6ypg*_ga*MTc1NTUwMjU3Ny4xNzcwMDYyNzky*_ga_MCLPEGW7WM*czE3NzAxNDc5MTIkbzIkZzAkdDE3NzAxNDc5MTIkajYwJGwwJGgw https://www.mass.gov/info-details/student-awareness-of-fire-education-safe?_ga=2.248726850.43679180.1770062792-1755502577.1770062792&_gl=1*pg6ypg*_ga*MTc1NTUwMjU3Ny4xNzcwMDYyNzky*_ga_MCLPEGW7WM*czE3NzAxNDc5MTIkbzIkZzAkdDE3NzAxNDc5MTIkajYwJGwwJGgw mailto:SAFE.FireSafetyDivision@mass.gov
Administrative Services • Division of Fire Safety
Hazardous Materials Response • Massachusetts Firefighting Academy
Application Tutorial Webinars
DFS will host five (5) Microsoft Teams webinars during the application period to review program requirements, application procedures, and submission guidelines. Attendance at one webinar is strongly encouraged for fire chiefs, designated SAFE educators, and/or grant managers.
Applicants will receive 20 points toward their application score when the fire chief, designated SAFE educator or grant manager attends one of the webinars.
Date Time How to Access
September 21, 2026 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Webinar Access Link Click Here
Enter meeting ID and/or passcode as prompted:
Meeting ID: 257 850 074 000
Passcode: TUtQ4G
September 23, 2026 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
September 24, 2026 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
September 25, 2026 1:30 PM – 6:00 PM
September 28, 2026 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Student and Educator Evaluations Requirement
Written student evaluations remain required for all grade levels participating in the SAFE Program. The Department of
Fire Services has developed 3rd, 6th, and 10th grade evaluation tools as one of the options available. Written evaluations allow DFS to collect statewide data on students’ fire and life safety knowledge and the key behaviors that they have learned. The SAFE Program continues to provide local flexibility for departments to determine which grade levels to teach, which key fire and life safety behaviors to address, and the curriculum that is most appropriate for each grade level.
SAFE Planning Grant
Departments that have not received SAFE Program funding during Fiscal Years 2022-2026 may apply for a $1,500.00 planning grant this year. Planning grants are designed to help departments build the infrastructure, training, curriculum plans and educational resources needed to establish a successful SAFE program. Planning Grant recipients may not use these funds to conduct classroom educational activities with students. All eligible departments may apply for a full Senior
SAFE grant regardless of prior participation.
Grant Timeline
Applications are due no later than September 29, 2026, at 5:00 pm. A complete program timeline can be found below and in the FY27 NOFO.
Milestone Date
Application Period Open September 10, 2026
Question Submission Deadline September 22, 2026
Application Submission Deadline September 29, 2026, at 5:00 PM
Award Announcements Week of October 26, 2026 (estimated)
End of Grant Performance Period June 30, 2027
End of Year Report Deadline July 30, 2027
Unexpended funds Due Within 30 calendar days of notification request from DFS
Questions
If you have questions about the SAFE and/or Senior SAFE Grant application, please contact Sheryl Hedlund at 978-567-
3381 or by email at SAFE.FireSafetyDivision@mass.gov.
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MjNjOGE4MmMtOWM5Ny00ZTA2LTlmMDEtMDIxMDQzM2ViMzk2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%223e861d16-48b7-4a0e-9806-8c04d81b7b2a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%226f7aa22b-3159-4c44-93a1-a4188e9b5845%22%7d mailto:SAFE.FireSafetyDivision@mass.gov
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