Fire marshal wins grant to promote fire safety

Vancouver – The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office was awarded a $142,753 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to promote fire safety.

The funds from the Fire Prevention and Safety grant will go toward the agency’s Project HomeSafe campaign, which aims at reducing the frequency and severity of residential fires through education and outreach.

The program, launched in 2015, involves deputy fire marshals and volunteers going door-to-door to show residents simple ways to reduce the risk of home fires.

“When people are hurt or killed in a fire it is usually at home,” Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said in a press release. “Project HomeSafe is a strategic community outreach effort to reduce the top three avoidable causes of residential fires in Vancouver: cooking, smoking and candles.”

Last year’s program reached 420 households, Scarpelli said.

The primary goal of the FEMA’s Fire Prevention and Safety grant is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations.