Fire prevention messaging in Tennessee added two Greenfield communicators to their list of award-winning talent last weekend as Gwyneth Norwood and Annabelle Lovell claimed top spots for their poster-making.
Each year the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) holds an annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest to celebrate Fire Prevention Week.
Posters are submitted to local fire departments by schools across the state. Each fire department holds a local competition, and the winning poster from each grade level competes at the state level. An awards ceremony is held each February to honor the winners.
Third grader Norwood won the Commissioner’s Choice Award and fifth grader Lovell won first place for fifth graders statewide.
This year’s theme for Fire Prevention Week and the Fire Prevention Poster Contest was “Not every hero wears a cape. Plan and Practice your Escape.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an individual has as little as one to two minutes to escape a house fire.
“Having an escape plan and practicing emergency exit drills can be the difference between life and death in an emergency,” noted Greenfield Fire Chief Bob Dudley who, along with Lieutenant James Stone, joined the two students and their families for the presentations at the Governor’s Residence in Nashville. “Our student representatives did an excellent job of conveying our message and representing our town.”
Chief Dudley also pointed out that these two made a total of 24 winners from Greenfield in the 35-year history of participating in the statewide contest.
(photo: Lt. James Stone, Chief Bob Dudley and Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Gary Farley celebrated Gwyneth Norwood and Annabelle Lovell’s work. Third grader Gwyneth Norwood won the Commissioner’s Choice Award while fifth grader Annabelle Lovell won the top prize for her grade statewide.)
