DCA ANNOUNCES WINNER OF 2012 FIRE SAFETY POSTER CONTEST

Bayonne Student’s Poster Selected from Approximately 10,000 Entries



Grand prize winning poster

TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Acting Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III today announced that Alissa May Garilao of Bayonne is the grand prize winner of the New Jersey Fire Safety Poster Contest for the 2011-2012 school year. The poster contest is cooperatively organized by the DCA’s Division of Fire Safety and the New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association.

“The goal of the poster contest was to encourage fire safety awareness in the home and Alissa’s poster accomplishes that,” said Acting Commissioner Constable. “Her wonderful artwork and the important message behind it will now be seen in public buildings around New Jersey. I congratulate her on a job well done.”

Garilao, who is in the seventh grade at Henry E. Harris School in Bayonne, beat out approximately 10,000 other contestants and six other division winners from across New Jersey. Her poster will now be distributed throughout New Jersey carrying the message of “Protect Your Family From Fire,” which was the theme of the 2011-2012 contest.

About 5,000 copies of the winning poster will be printed, compliments of Atlantic City Electric and its Emergency Services Partnership Program. Other major sponsors include the New Jersey Chapter of the American Fire Sprinkler Association, the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Fire Equipment Distributors, and the Joshua Marcus Group. The contest’s seven division winners received laptop computers and printers.

“Our student artists have once again combined their creativity with a solid fire prevention message to remind everyone that preventing fire is the best way to protect loved ones,” said William Kramer, State Fire Marshal and Acting Division of Fire Safety Director.

This year’s division winners are:

Student

Division

Grade

School

Town

Xavier Marquez

1

Grade 2

 

John M. Bailey School

Bayonne

Jasmine Barraza

 

2

Grade 5

 

Robert L. Craig School

Moonachie

Alissa May Garilao

 

3

Grade 7

Henry E. Harris School

Bayonne

Morgan Zygmund-Murphy

4

Grade 12

 

Holy Family Academy

Bayonne

Halie Burns

 

5

Grade 11

 

Union County Vo-Tech High School

Scotch Plains

Christian Zapata

 

6

Grade 4

 

Public School #11

Jersey City

Taylor Foster

 

7

Grade 12

Union County Vo-Tech High School

Scotch Plains

The contest theme for the 2012-2013 school year is “Have Two Ways Out.”

The 2012-2013 contest application and contest rules will be posted at http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dfs/ on the DCA’s website in the coming weeks. People can also go to http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dfs/pdf/cty_coordinators_poster.pdf on the website to see a list of contest coordinators by county. 

The Division of Fire Safety serves as the central fire service agency in the State. The Division is responsible for the development and enforcement of the State Uniform Fire Code, as well as for implementing public education and firefighter training programs. For more information, log on to http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dfs/ on the DCA website.

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