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Last Friday morning, fourth grader Mary Keller had an exciting carriage to bring her to school at St. Malachy: one of the Creston Fire Department’s fire trucks.
The escort to school, which was a surprise to Keller on Friday, was organized by the Creston Fire Department after Keller had won a poster contest hosted by the Iowa Firefighters Association. Her poster placed first in the fourth grade category and was awarded $100 for herself and $50 for the Creston Fire Department.
The annual contest takes place during Fire Prevention Week in October. Each year, the contest has a new theme related to fire prevention. This year, the theme revolved around cooking safety, the leading cause of home fires in the US. The National Fire Protection Association reported an average of 158,400 home structure fires caused by home cooking per year from 2017-2021, making up 44% of home fires.
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Keller’s poster promotes safety, reminding meal preparers to pay attention to their cooking. The promotion of fire safety awareness in her poster and her detailed drawing allowed Kelly to win the top prize in the fourth grade category among the several hundred who submit their posters in the state.
The elementary age range is a big area for fire prevention awareness, according to fire chief at the Creston Fire Department, Todd Jackson.
“That’s where a lot of our focus is with fire prevention, with the younger, more impressionable ages,” he said. “Children can be curious, if we get to the younger ones, and say this is an idea of what can happen, then we can prevent it in the first place. It’s also a message they can carry throughout their lives.”
Activities like the poster contest also invite children to engage with the ideas of fire safety instead of simply being told safety measures and concerns.
“This is going to help the students retain some of the importance of the fire safety message, by drawing and doing,” Jackson said. “Completing a poster adds to their awareness of fire prevention and fire safety. It’s another form of learning.”
Keller’s poster will be displayed during the Iowa State Fair under the Grandstand at the Hall of Flame, will stay with the Iowa Firefighters Association for the duration of 2024 and then returned to Keller.