Howard County (MD) Receives Grant for 400 New Smoke Alarms

The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (HCDFRS) has been awarded a $4,969 fire prevention grant from FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers. FM Global representatives will present the grant to Fire Chief John S. Butler at the Savage Fire Station today at 10:00am. The grant will be used to purchase approximately 400 smoke alarms to assist with a new outreach initiative called Project S.A.F.E which stands for Smoke Alarms for Everyone.

“We are grateful for FM Global’s donation, as we continue our work to ensure that everyone in the community has a working smoke alarm, regardless of their financial situation,” said County Executive Allan H. Kittleman. “Smoke alarms do save lives; we’ve seen that again and again. When they are placed on every level in the home, they save both lives and property.”

Because fire continues to be the leading cause of property damage worldwide, during the past 35 years, FM Global has contributed millions of dollars in fire prevention grants to fire service organizations around the globe. Locally, the company has awarded grants to a number of Maryland-based organizations to support initiatives like HCDFRS’ Project S.A.F.E. program.

“The Project S.A.F.E. program started on the ground-level where a group of firefighters got together during an officer training project and came up with the idea,” said Fire Chief John S. Butler. “Since the inception, smoke alarms have been installed and smoke alarm education has been disseminated to residents on incident calls and while canvassing neighborhoods. We plan to use the generous donation from FM Global to further this work.”

Through its Fire Prevention Grant Program, FM Global awards grants quarterly to fire departments—as well as national, state, regional, local and community organizations worldwide—that best demonstrate a need for funding, where dollars can have the most demonstrable impact on preventing fire, or mitigating the damage it can quickly cause.

“At FM Global, we strongly believe the majority of property damage is preventable, not inevitable,” said Michael Spaziani, manager of the fire prevention grant program. “Far too often, inadequate budgets prevent those organizations working to prevent fire from being as proactive as they would like to be. With additional financial support, grant recipients are actively helping to improve property risk in the communities they serve.”

To learn more about FM Global’s Fire Prevention Grant Program, please visit www.fmglobal.com/grants.