Fire Prevention Poster Winners Fill Town Hall

Local winners of the annual New Jersey Fire Prevention Poster Contest were recently honored by the Berkeley Township Council.

Over a dozen students from the four township elementary schools and Central Regional Middle and High Schools received accolades from council members.

“This has given our children an opportunity to learn the dangers of fire," Mayor Jason J. Varano said. "It also makes the parents aware that they need batteries and smoke alarms that they can hear.”

This year’s theme was “Smoke Alarms – A Sound You Can Live with.”

Seven-year-old Mackenzie Hart, a first-grader at the H&M Potter School, was a quiet but happy winner. Mackenzie said it felt “good” to be a winner.  She had drawn a detailed picture of a fire engine at a house, complete with smoke alarms, and fire coming out of a window.

The contest starts at the local level. Winners are then judged by Ocean County and state fire officials.

Student prizes at the local level were $100 for first place and $50 each for second and third place. Grand prizes at the state level are seven personal computer systems.

The contest is sponsored the state Department of Community Affairs Division of Fire Safety and the state Fire Prevention and Protection Association.

Students who win at the county level will be contacted by May 15. Seven division winners will be chosen. Those winners will move to the state contest.

Berkeley township fire officials Jack Wiegartner and Fred Mitchell coordinated the contest with the various schools.

Winners were:

Division 1 - Kindergarten through Grade 2 :

• First place: Avery Westhoven, Clara B. Worth School
• Second place: Jasmyn Valerio, Clara B. Worth School
• Third place: Mackenzie Hart, H&M Potter School

Division 2 - Third Grade to Fifth Grade:

• First place: Chloe McLaughlin, Bayville School
• Second place: Alyssa Gabriel, Bayville School
• Third place: Gregory Leifert, H&M Potter School

Division 3 - Grade 6 to Grade 8

• First place: Vincent Caruso, Berkeley Township Elementary School
• Second place:  Ashley Caulder, Central Regional Middle School
• Third place: O Aung, Berkeley Township Elementary School

Division 4  - Grade 9 to Grade 12

• First place:  Jessica Caulder, Central Regional High School                               
• Second place:  Sarah Rossi, Central Regional High School                                
• Third place: Angela Wang, Central Regional High School

Division 7 - Special Education

• First place: Robert Rutledge, Central Regional High School
• Second place: Malcolm Whitfield, Central Regional High School
• Third place: Devon Washington, Central Regional High School