CONTACT:
Tammori Petty or
Emike Omogbai
(609) 292-6055

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 25, 2015

 

Trenton, NJ – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Charles A. Richman and Acting Director and State Fire Marshal William Kramer, Jr. today announced the winners of the Scholastic Fire Prevention Poster Contest for the 2014-2015 school year. The poster contest is cooperatively organized by the Division of Fire Safety (NJDFS) and New Jersey State Fire Protection and Prevention Association (NJSFPPA).

"The poster contest is creative way to teach children important fire prevention and safety lessons and to encourage fire safety awareness in the home," said Commissioner Richman. "Additionally, the Fire Safety calendar will serve as a tool to keep fire safety at the forefront year round."　

Beginning with last year’s contest and now every year, the student artwork becomes the central feature of the yearly NJSFPPA and NJDFS Fire Safety calendar that provides elements of prevention awareness. The calendar includes reminders such as the annual time change to check and replace smoke alarm batteries, the dates for significant fire safety events such as National Fire Prevention Week, and seasonal cautions concerning fire safety throughout the　　 year. The calendar is distributed statewide in order to advance community risk reduction awareness. The contest itself has been conducted annually for over 25 years and is among the oldest continual scholastic competitions in the state.　

"Our enduring partnership with the New Jersey State Fire Prevention and Protection Association continues to provide the dual benefit of celebrating our talented student artists who by their efforts give a compelling focus to fire safety," said William Kramer, Jr. Acting Director and State Fire Marshal.

This year’s contest which was announced at the beginning of the school year asked students from around the state to apply their artistic talents to this year’s National Fire Protection Association, National Fire Prevention Week theme which was "Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives, Test Yours Every Month".

In addition to its founding sponsors of the NJ Division of Fire Safety and the NJSFPPA, the contest enjoys the sponsorship of the American Fire Sprinkler Association, Fire Safety & Systems Company, Monmouth County Fire Prevention & Protection Association, Bergen County Fire Prevention & Protection Association, New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, Fire Sprinkler Fitters and Apprentices Union Local 696, City Fire Equipment Company, Inc., Atlantic City Electric Company and Joshua Marcus Group LLC.

 Each of the winning contestants, drawn from over hundreds of entrants from all the state’s 21 counties, will be awarded a MacBook Pro and companion printers for their artistic endeavors in the name of saving lives. The awards luncheon for the students took place on Thursday, June 11 at the Forge Restaurant in Woodbridge.　

Our 2015 winners are:

Student Division School Town County
Ava Lucido Division 1
Elementary Schools
K through 2nd Grade		 Memorial
Elementary School		 Montvale Bergen
Sarah Plummer
**Overall Winner**		 Division 2
Elementary Schools
3rd through 5th Grade		 Sylvia Rosenauer
Elementary School		 Jackson Ocean
Navdeep Sanghera Division 3
Middle Schools		 PS #11
Martin Luther King
School		 Jersey City Hudson
Yubin Lee Division 4
Secondary Schools		 Bergen County
Academies		 Hackensack Bergen
Kayla Bocage Division 5
Vocational-Technical
Schools		 Union County
Vocational-Technical
School		 Scotch Plains Union
Matthew Malure Division 6
Special Education
K through 8th Grade		 The Calais Whippany Morris
Felisha Tirado Division 7
Special Education Division
9th through 12th Grade		 Salem High School Salem Salem

 ** Denotes overall winner whose poster will be printed on the cover of the 2016 calendar.

The Division of Fire Safety is responsible for the development and enforcement of the State Uniform Fire Code, as well as for implementing public education and firefighter training programs.