SUNDERLAND — Thanks to his work with Sunderland Elementary School and other public awareness initiatives, Fire Lt. Matthew Morin became one of several firefighters across the state to be nominated for the Fire & Life Safety Educator of the Year Award.
Morin was among 13 nominees for the award — ultimately given to Hanover firefighter-paramedic Eric Johnson — which “honors an individual or a team for their involvement and commitment to making our world safer from fire and other preventable injuries,” while also showing outstanding leadership and creativity in their education efforts, according to the Department of Fire Services’ webpage.
Sunderland Fire Chief Steven Benjamin said Morin and Sunderland Police Officer Benjamin Peters have spearheaded public safety awareness over the last year, which led to the creation of October 2021’s First Responder Safety Festival.
“Last fall, both he and Officer Benjamin Peters really took it upon themselves to organize the public safety fair … Through that effort, and through Matt’s work, the department was nominated,” Benjamin recounted. “It’s a testament to what Matthew and Officer Peters had done to try and reach out to the community and keep fire safety and public awareness at the forefront.”
Morin and his fellow nominees were honored at the 27th annual Massachusetts Fire and Life Safety Education Conference in September, capping off two days of workshops covering a wide range of public safety topics.
Nominations for the Fire & Life Safety Educator of the Year award may be submitted by firefighting peers, department chiefs, school administrators or residents. All nominations this year, however, were submitted by their employing fire departments, according to Department of Fire Services Public Information Officer Jake Wark.
“He’s worked very hard, he puts in a lot of time; he was in good company with the rest of the nominees in the commonwealth,” Benjamin said, noting that the recognition is great for Morin because “he really did the heavy lifting,” but it is a department honor, too. “It’s a confirmation that what we’re doing is reaching people and people are noticing.”
Benjamin explained the majority of Morin’s work involves integrating himself with Sunderland Elementary School and teaching students of all ages different fire safety and prevention tips.
“The commonwealth gives out a framework of ages to target and suggested topics of conversations,” Benjamin explained. “Initially with the younger kids, it’s a familiarity with the firefighters. If there is a fire in the home, it’s very frightening and small children respond better when they’re familiar with what a firefighter looks like.”
As kids grow, the education turns toward fire prevention tips that can stick with them even when they’re adults.
“A lot of times people get tunnel vision and it’s easy to overlook the pile of mail that’s next to the stove, for instance,” Benjamin said. “Then it goes into, if there is a fire in the house, where do you go?”
Educating students is vital, Benjamin said, because knowing what to do in an emergency can keep families safe, while also allowing a more efficient response from firefighters and other first responders.
“That’s the theme: have a plan,” he said. “That way when firefighters arrive, it’s a very quick determination if there’s a fire at hand.”
While the Sunderland Fire Department and Morin were honored, Benjamin said all of their peers across Franklin County are worthy of this recognition for the work they do in keeping residents safe.
“Just because we’re nominated doesn’t mean our peer departments or our partners are doing anything different,” he said. “Everyone’s working together.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.