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From left, Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees and seventh-grader Lacie Keller and Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook pose for a portrait holding their winning entries for the Council Bluffs Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Week poster contest during an award ceremony at the department headquarters on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. “Fire won’t wait — plan your escape” was the theme for the 100th annual Fire Prevention Week.
Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees, right, arrives at the Council Bluffs Fire Department headquarters in a fire engine to accept an award for winning the department's Fire Prevention Week poster contest on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Wilson seventh-grader Lacie Keller and Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook were the winners for their respective grades.
Council Bluffs Fire Chief Justin James addresses the winners of the department's Fire Prevention Week poster contest during an award ceremony at the department headquarters on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees and seventh-grader Lacie Keller and Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook were the winners for their respective grades.
From left, Council Bluffs Fire Chief Justin James, Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees, Wilson Middle School seventh-grader Lacie Keller, Council Bluffs Firefighters Union President John Sauser, Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook and Firefighter Zac Sadler pose for a portrait with the students holding their winning entries for the fire department's Fire Prevention Week poster contest during an award ceremony at the department headquarters on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. “Fire won’t wait — plan your escape” was the theme for the 100th annual Fire Prevention Week.
“Fire won’t wait — plan your escape” was the theme for the 100th annual Fire Prevention Week and a poster contest held this year by the Council Bluffs Fire Department.
The department invited students in Council Bluffs middle schools to enter and chose winners in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
The three winners were: sixth grade, Drake Rees of Wilson Middle School; seventh grade, Lacie Keller, Wilson; and eighth grade, Kylee Cook of Lewis Central Middle School. Each received a plaque donated by Midwest Trophy & Award and a $100 cash prize.
The students were invited to the main fire station for lunch and an awards ceremony Friday. They each arrived in style, getting a ride from their schools to the station in department fire engines.
Fire Chief Justin James congratulated the students and told them a little bit about the fire department.
The department has 115 employees, when fully staffed, James said. Crews respond to more than 10,000 emergency calls each year and transport about 6,000 people to a hospital.
“Every year, thousands of lives are lost and billions of dollars in damage is done by fires,” he said.
The department hopes to prevent the loss of life through its public education program, James said.
Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported home fire in half, according to a proclamation by Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh designating Oct. 9-15 Fire Prevention Week in the city. Council Bluffs residents who have planned and practiced a home fire escape plan are more prepared and will therefore be more likely to survive a fire, it stated.
During Fire Prevention Week — which lasts all month for the department — rank-and-file firefighters help members of the public education program visit all the elementary schools in Council Bluffs, James said.
James credited Firefighter Zack Sadler for restarting the department’s poster contest, which lapsed seven or eight years ago. Sadler took the idea to Fire Marshal Alex Ford and, “Once he had permission, he was off and running. It’s a great idea, and it really highlights what we want to do with the community.”
“I grew up in Des Moines,” Sadler said as people lined up for lunch, “and every year they would do a program similar to this for the middle schools. I remember doing it, and I won a year — and it was a memory that I really enjoy. It fueled me — that’s one of the reasons I wanted to be a firefighter. I figured if I could bring that here, that would be a good thing to do.”
After pizza provided by Hy-Vee, firefighters brought out reproductions of the winning posters that had been mounted on magnetic backing by Sandau Brothers Sign Co. and hung them on the quick response vehicle so the artists could be photographed next to them. The department uses the vehicle on a lot of medical runs instead of sending a full-size truck.
The International Association of Firefighters, Local 15, also helps sponsor Fire Prevention Week activities.
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From left, Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees and seventh-grader Lacie Keller and Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook pose for a portrait holding their winning entries for the Council Bluffs Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Week poster contest during an award ceremony at the department headquarters on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. “Fire won’t wait — plan your escape” was the theme for the 100th annual Fire Prevention Week.
Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees, right, arrives at the Council Bluffs Fire Department headquarters in a fire engine to accept an award for winning the department's Fire Prevention Week poster contest on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Wilson seventh-grader Lacie Keller and Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook were the winners for their respective grades.
Council Bluffs Fire Chief Justin James addresses the winners of the department's Fire Prevention Week poster contest during an award ceremony at the department headquarters on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees and seventh-grader Lacie Keller and Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook were the winners for their respective grades.
From left, Council Bluffs Fire Chief Justin James, Wilson Middle School sixth-grader Drake Rees, Wilson Middle School seventh-grader Lacie Keller, Council Bluffs Firefighters Union President John Sauser, Lewis Central Middle School eighth-grader Kylee Cook and Firefighter Zac Sadler pose for a portrait with the students holding their winning entries for the fire department's Fire Prevention Week poster contest during an award ceremony at the department headquarters on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. “Fire won’t wait — plan your escape” was the theme for the 100th annual Fire Prevention Week.
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