May 11, 2015 New Jersey Division of Fire Safety Names 2015 Winners of 10th Annual Fire Information and Rescue Education (F.I.R.E.) Bowl Held at Kean University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, May 11, 2015

New Jersey Division of Fire Safety Names 2015 Winners of 10^th Annual Fire Information and Rescue Education (F.I.R.E.) Bowl Held at Kean University

UNION, NJ – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Acting Commissioner Charles A. Richman today announced middle school students from the Nicholas Oresko School in Bayonne, NJ as the winners of the 10^th Annual Fire Information and Rescue Education Bowl that took place on Friday, May 8, 2015 at the Little Theater at Kean University.

"This event provides an excellent opportunity to get students thinking about fire safety education," said DCA Acting Commissioner Charles A. Richman. "It is important that we educate the public on important fire safety measures beginning at a young age all while having fun and allowing students to compete with their peers."

Team Oresko members, Afran Ali, Micco Iwase, Sean Manuel and Giancarlo Megale were the champions in the contest where the state’s middle school students compete against each other in a competition designed to measure knowledge of various aspects of firefighting, prevention and emergency medical assistance.

"We continue to be impressed by the level of commitment from our student teams, their faculty advisors and the administrators of the local district that allows the F.I.R.E. Bowl to culminate each year," said William Kramer, Jr. Acting Director and State Fire Marshal. "This is about the best example you’ll see of fire safety education done in a fun, informative, and possibly life-saving way."

Kramer notes that while the setting is strictly a "game show" format, the run up to the final and the contest itself, involves a very intensive briefing on fire safety and emergency medical procedures typically confronted by the state’s fire responder corps.

"Make no mistake, the knowledge base these students are drawing from is the very one we ask the men and women interested in becoming part of the state fire service to know," adds Kramer.

Students under the guidance of their faculty coaches begin their studies well in advance of the final and it’s those preliminary rounds that determine who ultimately will wear the F.I.R.E. Bowl state champion crown. All participants are on hand for the exciting, competitive final at Kean, which is ably "game show hosted" by News 12 New Jersey personality Tony Caputo.

The annual F.I.R.E. Bowl received the endorsement from the National Association of State Fire Marshals and was presented at the National Fire Prevention Association’s International Conference in 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The New Jersey State Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association, the Joshua Marcus Group, IMTT-Bayonne, and Hartz Mountain Corporation of Secaucus were the sponsors of this year’s event.

Each winning team member receives a Kindle Fire HDX tablet courtesy of a fire prevention education grant from FM Global of Rhode Island, a major insurance underwriter worldwide.

The Division of Fire Safety is responsible for the development and enforcement of the State Uniform Fire Code, as well as engaging the public on community risk reduction strategies, assisting in fire department preparedness and conducting firefighter training programs.