Four Mass. fire departments win Liberty Mutual grants

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Liberty Mutual, a global insurance company headquartered in Boston, said that its Be Fire Smart Safety Pledge program has awarded $10,000 grants to fire departments in Bridgewater, Weymouth, Wilmington, and Merrimac.

The program featured an online quiz. People were invited to answer 10 questions about their knowledge of fire safety. Each completed quiz secured a point that was credited to the quiz-taker’s local fire department. Liberty Mutual used the tally of the results to determine which communities nationwide would be awarded a grant for their fire departments. The grants are distributed in three categories: Large communities, midsize communities, and small communities.

Besides the Massachusetts communities, other communities that won grants included Norfolk, Va.; Middleton, Wis.; and Denair, Calif.

The Weymouth Fire Department plans to use its grant to help purchase thermal imaging cameras, and the Merrimac Fire Department will use some of the grant to buy new protective clothing for its fire fighters, Liberty Mutual said.