Cider Mill Students Honored for Winning Fire Safety Posters

Four Cider Mill School students were honored by their art teachers, school principal and members of the Wilton Fire Dept. on Thursday morning for having won top honors in a fire safety poster contest.

The four winners were Ella Donovan, Grace Williams (fourth graders), Tamar Rozenberg and Isabelle Braten (5th graders).

All four girls managed to incorporate creativity, color and key messages into their unique posters, which will now be entered in a Fairfield County-wide competition, and potentially to a statewide contest.

Wilton Fire Marshal David Kohn explained the significance of the poster contest in a broad context.  

“You’ve obviously learned your lessons. And sometimes you go home and spread the word to moms and dads," Kohn said. "The past few decades we’ve seen the number of fires go down. We’ve also seen fine examples of boys and girls doing the right thing whether it is preventing fires, escaping fires or contacting us right away to put the fires out.”

Indeed the key messages weren't hard to spot in the posters. Isabelle Braten used the slogan "Don't Hide. Go Outside" and the image of a turtle hiding inside his green shell as a reminder that it is important to leave the house quickly in the event of a fire.

Ella Donovan had an apt headline across her poster: "Fire Prevention: Everyone/Everyday!" Her reminders beside a rendering of her "humble home" were:

• Make sure you have a fire extinguisher in stock. 
• You should always have an alarm.
• Never leave a candle near a wooden product.

Messages in Grace Williams' poster included the warning not to play with matches, never to leave a candle unattended, always replace fire alarm batteries in spring and fall and to have an escape plan if a fire happens.

Tamar Rozenberg's poster urged readers, "Call 911 in case of an emergency," "Don't leave hot pots and pans unattended," and to "Keep window curtains and paper away from ovens."