Childress Fire Department hosts Fire Prevention Week

CHILDRESS – Fire Prevention Week is a big event for Childress Elementary School students like McCrae Detwiler.

He placed third in the first grade poster contest and got to ride on the fire truck to the pizza party for contest winners at the Fair Park Pavillion. Detwiler even sported a firefighter outfit.

“I’m going on the fire truck,” he said. “You need to look like a firefighter.”

Detwiler drew his house, a fire and his family’s fire plan on his poster. He even went over his plan with me when I interviewed him.

“Many of these firemen take off from their jobs to come and educate our children,” said Childress Elementary School Principal Janet Word. “We are so lucky to live in a community with wonderful firemen.”

Word said she’s known children who have used what the firefighters taught them during Fire Prevention Week to save their families.

“It’s a wonderful thing, and I look forward to it each year,” Word said.

So do the firefighters.

“We get to give the contest winners a pizza party,” said Childress Fire Chief Daniel Tyler. “It’s good extra recognition for the hard work they put in on the posters.”

The Childress Fire Department recognized the first, second and third place winners in Pre-K through fifth grade.

Pre K winners: first place – River Fairchild, second place – Yitzi Bolands and third place – Rhett Britton. Kindergarten winners: first place – Brealyn Lepe, second place – Lorelei Ramires and third place – Berklee Farris. First grade winners: first place – Anastasia Galvan, second place – Addilynn Garcia  and third place – McCrae Detwiler. Second grade winners: first place – Olivia Fuller, second place – Cambri Willis and third place – Henleigh Foster. Third grade winners: first place – Berkley Lepe, second place – Kamrie Sherwood and third place. Fourth grade winners: first place – Skylar Villarreal, second place – Lillian Mata and third place – Emma Cano. Fifth grade winners: first place – Dallas Coronado, second place – Macee Garcia and third place – Kynli Douglas.

The pizza party was also full of fun, laughter and smiles. Tyler said the posters are displayed at United and Walmart if anybody wants to see them.