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Win a ride to school on a fire truck

The Bedford Fire Department is conducting a contest they hope will get local families talking (and drawing) about fire safety in the home.

From Oct. 6-25, children who go to school in Bedford are invited to enter the contest. One winner from each of the elementary schools and one local preschool will be selected to win the prize of a ride to school in a fire truck.

The fire department works with the parents, schools and teachers to select a time that works best. The winner is picked up at home in a real fire truck and then brought to school. Usually, the winning child’s class is waiting outside and upon this exciting arrival, photos with the group are taken.

All that is needed to enter is to complete the entry form and include: child’s name, age, grade, home address, parent/guardian name and email address and the school the child attends. It is important to have all of that information accurate and legible. Then complete the following requirements for the drawing: An aerial view of the layout of your home; a line showing two ways out; the location of all smoke detectors; and the family meeting place. The meeting place is the location where the family will meet if there is a fire in the home. It might be a mailbox, rock, tree, fence, street corner or a neighbor’s driveway. It should be in the front of the house so when the fire department arrives, firefighters can be sure that everyone is out of the home safely.

This is a fun way to motivate families to reinforce the importance of practicing escape routes from the home as well as review their family meeting place.

One past winner drew the landscape rock pattern that was around the base of the tree that was their designated meeting place. This was a clear indication that the family had actually walked out to the meeting place to review it for her drawing. This helps to reinforce the meeting place concept so it becomes instinctive to a child if there is an emergency.

Another past winner drew all smoke detectors in the home and made a little note that one detector did not work when they tested it thus they replaced it. This family used the contest to build on their safe home habits of checking smoke alarms.

Good luck Bedford kids. Get your entry into the contest box located in the permit room at the Bedford Fire Department by 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25.