Woodstock Fire Holds Contest For Junior & Deputy Fire Chief

Friday, 7 August 2015 08:41

The Woodstock Fire Department is holding a colouring and poster contest to find a Junior and Deputy Fire Chief for a day.

WOODSTOCK - Two students from the area will be given an opportunity like no other thanks to the Woodstock Fire Department.

The Fire Department wants to show the importance of working smoke detectors outside of sleeping areas to young people. Public Information Coordinator for the Department, Lisa Woods, outlines how the contest works to determine a Junior Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief for the day. "JK to grade 3 can actually do a colouring contest, and grades 4 to 8 need to enter by designing a poster with the theme 'Hear the Beep, Where you Sleep.' What the winners get is a ride to school in a fire truck, they get to have lunch with the firefighters, do official fire fighter business, meet local dignitaries, and of course they will win great prizes."

Woods discusses the importance of having a working detector outside of any sleeping area. "Fire code states that every home needs smoke alarms on each level and outside the sleeping areas. We want to make sure that it is in fact on the level outside of the sleeping areas so that when you are sleeping you are awakened by the sound of the smoke alarms. Most fires happen between the hours of 11pm-7am, so we want to make sure that you can hear it when you are sleeping."

Woods explains how popular this contest has been in the past and the excitement the kids feel when the fire truck pulls up in front of the school. "We have been running this contest since 2008, and we always get an overwhelming amount of entries and usually the schools are all out waiting for them to show up. The kids get a warm welcome by their classmates and of course everybody wants to know how they can be part of that the following year. It is pretty exciting for them and it is once in a lifetime opportunity."

All submissions need to be handed in to the Fire Station on Parkinson Street by Friday September 25th.

The pictures needed to take part in the contest can be found at http://www.cityofwoodstock.ca/en/living-in-woodstock/prevention-and-education.asp