Breed students tops in county art contest

LYNN – Pairing fire prevention and safety with Japanese Anime, Breed Middle School seventh grader Jenny Sar won first place among all Essex County participants in the Massachusetts Fair Plan “Arson Watch Reward Plan Fire Safety Poster Contest” this month.Sar’s poster was chosen over 350 entries from Essex County in the contest, sponsored by the Lynn Fire Department, beating out Breed eighth grader Jazzmin Pippa, whose informative carbon monoxide awareness poster finished in second place.The annual contest encourages students to learn about fire safety and prevention and in turn apply that knowledge to their poster, which must be informative as well as artistic.One winner is chosen from each county, and is entered in the final contest held at a May 28 luncheon at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel. The overall state winner receives $1,000 and has their poster displayed for a year on the cover of the State Fire Marshall’s official report. All finalists are also featured on a yearly fire prevention calendar.Second and third place winners of the state contest will win $500 and $250 respectively, and will also be featured in the marshal’s report.The 2008 contest, called “Wake Up and Face the Facts- Carbon Monoxide/Smoke Detectors Save Lives!” focused on carbon monoxide awareness and the dangers of the poisonous gas that usually cannot be detected without an alarm.Sar’s poster, themed after a Japanese Anime film that she watched, featured characters with word bubbles discussing the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and how to detect and prevent the gas from entering the home.As first place winner, Sar received a plaque and $200, along with a free trip to the luncheon in Framingham and a chance to win the grand prize.”I came up with the idea from a Japanese Anime movie, and I just visualized the process of buying a carbon monoxide detector,” she said.Pippa’s poster featured bulleted facts about carbon monoxide poisoning, including Megan’s Law, which was passed three years ago requiring all homeowners to have both fire and carbon monoxide detectors in every home.Pippa illustrated the dangers of space heaters, which emit the poisonous gas, by showing a red carbon monoxide demon rising to the detector above a girl’s bed, waking her up and saving her life. For her second place prize she received $100 and a plaque.Art teacher Patty Kilbansky went over fire and carbon monoxide safety facts before students designed the posters, something that both winners said they learned a lot about.”I am actually glad that she talked to us about space heaters, because I have one and I always leave it on,” said Pippa. “Now I am going to get rid of it. We learned to have an emergency plan, to always have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors and to be safe with appliances and heaters.”Lynn Fire Captain Joseph Zukas acted as the Essex County Coordinator for the event, and said he was glad to see such a high level of participation from the city’s students.”It is such a positive thing for the city, the kids are doing a great job,” he said. “I can’t say enough about (Kilbansky) either, she does a great job. She has had winners in the past and she always does a great job of getting the kids involved and educating them about fire safety, and now carbon monoxide safety.”Everybody knows about smoke detectors by now, I hope. But carbon monoxide detectors are a new thing. So this was a lesson in safety as well as a lesson in art.”