Providence Fire Department awarded $4,000 grant from FM Global

Providence Fire Department awarded $4,000 grant from FM Global

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--The Providence Fire Department was awarded a $4,000 fire prevention grant from FM Global, one of the world's largest commercial property insurers. The purpose of the grant is to assist Providence Fire in educating the public on fire safety and fire prevention strategies. FM Global representatives presented the award to Commissioner Steven Paré, Acting Fire Chief Michael Dillon, and Battalion Chief James Taylor at a press conference yesterday at the Providence Public Safety Complex.

"The Providence Fire Department is pleased to partner with FM Global to reduce the loss of life and property to fire in Providence. This grant funding will be used to deliver the fire safety message and to ensure every home in Providence has working smoke detectors," said Chief Dillon. "Early detection and notification are the critical factors in preventing death and injury in home fires where the majority of fire deaths occur. The Providence Fire Department will continue to deliver the fire safety message in schools and at public safety events in the community. The Department is grateful to FM Global for their generous support of these efforts."

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 Rhode Island-based organizations.

"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."

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.