More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
Students at Children’s Corner Nursery School (CCNS) were excited to get a visit recently from the Wellesley Fire Department. Firefighters Joanie Cullinan, Matt Tedeschi, and Lieutenant Bill Delorie taught the children about their gear, how they keep us safe, and gave a tour of the engine.
From Wellesley Fire Chief Rick DeLorie:
Wellesley Fire Department Earns State Grants for Fire Education Programs
As Fire Chief, I am pleased to announce that the Wellesley Fire Department has earned two grants that will help augment the department’s ongoing Fire Safety Education. These grants will support our goal to keep our most vulnerable in our community; children to seniors safe as possible with valuable fire and life safety education.
On Behalf of the Fire Department, I received a letter from Governor Baker congratulating our department on being awarded grants from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services of $4,308 for its S.A.F.E. Program and an additional $2,615 for its Senior S.A.F.E. Program. We also appreciate the legislative support for the SAFE and Senior SAFE grant programs from our Representative Alice Peisch, Senator Cynthia Creem, and Senator Richard Ross.
The S.A.F.E. Program is a state initiative designed to provide resources to local fire departments to conduct fire and life safety education programs for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The program aims to educate students to recognize fire risks and teach key safety behaviors that should be used anytime a child comes into contact with a fire or other types of emergencies. A few of the most notable SAFE programs are the Wellesley Fire Youth Rescuer Summer Program, July Jubilation, and the Fire Prevention week in the schools.
Senior S.A.F.E. is a similar program that was created to support fire safety education specifically for older adults, who are most at risk of dying in a fire in Massachusetts. The program builds on the success of the original S.A.F.E. program and helps forge a connection between fire departments and a variety of senior support agencies working in their communities. Two of the most notable Senior SAFE programs are the Senior Citizens Thanksgiving Dinner / Fire Prevention program and the Senior Pancake Breakfast Senior Safety Presentation.
S.A.F.E. and Senior S.A.F.E. are key grant programs that have made a difference in our community. I am very proud of all of our personnel that support these programs and many attend these community events off duty. The primary Fire Prevention Educators are Lt Paul Delaney and Lt Matt Corda who are amazing at working so creatively to engage with residents. Lt Delaney did a great job again this year applying for the safety education grants, and I’m very pleased that our fire and life safety education programs continue to be augmented by grant funding.
The Wellesley Fire/Rescue Department will be holding an entry-level Firefighter Exam on April 21 at Wellesley Middle School, 50
Kingsbury St. Registration and more info can be found here.
Wellesley’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a group of trained and organized volunteers that respond to disasters at the neighborhood level.
The group is open to anyone from Wellesley who is at least 18 years old. Basic training consists of seven evening classes that cover basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. These classes are all on Tuesday evenings at 6pm at the Wellesley Fire Station at 457 Worcester St. The dates are 3/6, 3/13, 3/27, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1.
There is an information session at The Fire Station on 2/13 at 6:30 pm. If you have any questions, please contact Lt. Matthew Corda at [email protected].
This from Rick DeLorie, Fire Chief and Mike Pakstis, Director of Public Works:
The Department of Public Works (DPW) is mobilizing for the Nor’easter forecasted for tomorrow. The DPW and Wellesley Fire-Rescue Department are asking for your assistance in clearing fire hydrants of snow in your neighborhood. There are over 1,400 hydrants in Wellesley, and each one is potentially vital in the event of an emergency.
Adopting a hydrant is as simple as 4 easy steps:
1.Click on the link below to access the Adopt a Hydrant web map:
https://www.mapsonline.net/wellesleyma/hydrant
2. Expand the Find tab on the left. In the Address field, start typing your Street Name and select the Street when it appears in the drop-down list.
Repeat this for the Address #. The map will then zoom to your neighborhood.
3. Click on the Adopt a Hydrant button on the right and then click any RED hydrant to adopt it.
4. Enter your information in the pop-up form and click “Update.”
NOTE: If the pop-up form doesn’t appear, make sure to enable pop-ups for this MapsOnline website in your internet browser settings.
Please be careful and aware of roadway traffic, and thank you for volunteering to keep our neighborhoods safe.