Fire & Rescue NSW announces 2017 Brigade Kids Champions

Published: 4th May 2017

Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has today announced the winners of its Brigade Kids Champion Competition, which was aimed at promoting fire safety to children across NSW.

More than 280 children from 62 schools in Kindergarten to Year 2 entered the competition to design a poster promoting three key fire safety messages.

The overall winner is Zaynab Sleiman from Al Faisal College Auburn, who designed a poster with a focus on the message “Call 000 in case of a fire”.

The category winners are:

  • Kindergarten: Oliver Kau from Darlington Public School
  • Year 1: Zakaria Elsawalhi from Al Faisal College Auburn
  • Year 2: Zaynab Sleiman from Al Faisal College Auburn

Fire & Rescue NSW Commissioner, Paul Baxter congratulated the winners and thanked all participants for entering the competition.

“With more than 4,500 home fires a year, it’s essential for kids to understand the importance of fire safety at a young age. Children are often unaware that a tiny flame can grow into a dangerous fire. They tend to hide when something goes wrong and they rely on parents and carers to tell them what they need to do,” he said.

“We are overwhelmed by the effort, enthusiasm and creativity of children across NSW. The number of quality entries is a testament to the teachers and parents around the state who engage and encourage their children to get involved in fire safety.”

Judges of the Brigade Kids Champion competition included representatives from Fire & Rescue NSW, NSW Department of Education, Association of Independent Schools of NSW, NSW Teachers Federation, Catholic Education Commission NSW, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Lego, and Scholastic Australia.

Zaynab Sleiman’s poster will be on display at fire stations all over the state as part of Fire & Rescue NSW Open Day on 20 May 2017.

Every day firefighters attend home fires that could have been prevented with a few simple steps and precautions. As a parent or carer, there are many simple things that can be done to make your home fire safe for children, including:

  • Don't leave children alone in the home
  • Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children
  • Teach children that fire is a tool, not a toy
  • Be aware that younger children may play with fire in their bedroom
  • Teach children survival skills such as "Get down low and go, go, go!" and "Stop, Drop, Cover and Roll"
  • Develop and practice an escape plan
  • Teach children to call Triple Zero 000 in case of an emergency.

To view the complete list of entries for the Brigade Kids Champion Competition, please visit www.brigadekids.com

FRNSW extends its thanks to all sponsors and supporters of the Brigade Kids Champion Competition including NSW Department of Education, Association of Independent Schools of NSW, NSW Teachers Federation, Catholic Education Commission NSW, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Lego, Microsoft and Scholastic Australia.