Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office receives $207,000 grant

VANCOUVER — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the city of Vancouver’s Fire Marshal’s Office a $207,000 fire prevention and safety grant. The grant will support the Project Home Safe campaign to reduce the frequency and severity of residential fires by providing fire and life safety education and outreach.

This is the eighth Federal Emergency Management Agency grant the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office has received since 2012, totaling approximately $1.5 million for community risk reduction efforts.

“Project Home Safe unites zero fire ignition strategies that focus on stopping a fire before it happens to reactionary fire safety education like fire escape planning, free home safety surveys and smoke alarm installation,” Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said.

The Fire Marshal’s Office launched Project Home Safe in 2015. As part of the community education effort, Vancouver deputy fire marshals and Fire Corps volunteers go door-to-door showing residents simple ways to reduce the risk of home fires. The program has reached more than 12,000 Vancouver households since it began.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Fire Prevention and Safety grants support projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related hazards. The primary goal is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations.

“I am so grateful to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and our city council for supporting this important and meaningful program,” Scarpelli said. “Preventing fires before they start is one of the cornerstones of our fire department’s mission.”