Brockton committee recommends acceptance of $13,298 state SAFE grant; officials highlight larger grant strategy

The Brockton Finance Committee on May 5 recommended that the City Council accept and spend $13,298.05 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety for the Brockton Fire Department.

The grant, Fire Chief Brian Nardelli told the committee, is the Department of Fire Services SAFE (Student Awareness Fire Education) award the department applies for annually. Nardelli said the money will pay for student- and senior-focused prevention materials and programs — helmets, books and other classroom supplies — and help fund the department’s October fire-prevention day. He described the SAFE program as non‑matching state money that specifically supports both school-age and senior outreach started locally by Deputy Chief Hendrigan.

Committee members heard the SAFE grant in the context of a much larger and ongoing push to fund equipment and staffing through outside sources. Nardelli and Dr. Troy Clarkson, the city CFO who joined the discussion, described multiple awards and applications: a recent $25,000 state grant to buy new turnout gear; purchases tied to FEMA awards, including thermal imaging cameras previously procured; and a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant that funded 16 firefighter positions, which the department said totaled about $3.7 million across award cycles. Nardelli also said an apparatus currently under procurement is roughly $560,000. He told the committee the department bought an SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) cleaner that will be delivered to the new public safety facility, and described the department’s use of grants to pay for broad training such as trench‑rescue courses attended by the entire force.

Deputy Chief Scott Albanese and other department leaders told the committee the training funded by grants has been extensive: trench rescue instruction at the Department of Fire Services Academy, department-wide instruction that many members are pursuing to convert to ProBoard certification, and fall‑prevention and senior outreach programs run with local partners. Nardelli said the department has been able to sustain some multi‑year federal payments by working with city officials to engage contacts in Washington.

Councilor Farwell and other committee members asked for and received details about the sizes and purposes of recent awards. Nardelli and Dr. Clarkson explained that the $13,298 SAFE grant is targeted to prevention and education, that the $25,000 state award is designated for turnout gear, and that larger SAFER and FEMA awards have funded firefighter positions and major equipment purchases, such as thermal cameras and apparatus.

Committee action: A motion to recommend acceptance of the $13,298.05 SAFE grant and to forward the matter to the full City Council was made, seconded and approved. The committee recorded the outcome as “recommended favorably.”

The resolution approved by the committee will be forwarded to the full City Council for formal acceptance and appropriation of the grant funds. Department leaders told the committee they will continue pursuing state and federal grants to fund equipment, training and staffing needs.