FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 05, 2014

Division of Fire Safety Crowns State Champion of Fire Information and Rescue Education (F.I.R.E.) Bowl

Students Learn Lifelong Lessons about Fire Safety to Prepare for Annual Competition



TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III today announced that middle school students from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School in Freehold have been crowned the 2014 Fire Information and Rescue Education (F.I.R.E) Bowl champions. The annual F.I.R.E Bowl instructs middle school students throughout the year in both in practical fire safety measures, and in the more technical aspects of firefighting and emergency medical treatment culminating with a statewide competition that tests student knowledge.

”It is important that we educate the public on fire safety measures beginning at a young age,” said DCA Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III. “This event is a great way to keep students up-to-date on fire safety education and get them thinking about important fire prevention measures all while having fun and competing with their peers.”

Students from 11 schools in Freehold, Belleville, Bayonne, Avenel, Colonia and Jersey City formed teams and competed in the 2014 F.I.R.E Bowl. Students from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School in Freehold secured the title of 2014 state champions against the second place team Academy 1 Middle School in Jersey City.

“We are pleased beyond measure to report the final results of our annual test of fire safety knowledge among our participant middle school pupils,” said William Kramer, Jr., Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety and State Fire Marshal. “This year we enjoyed our largest participation and our highest scores ever and we congratulate the team members, student advisors, parents, and teachers who all contributed to the effort.”

The New Jersey Division of Fire Safety F.I.R.E. Bowl will be introduced next month at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) International Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada as a Model Public Education Program.

“To have achieved recognition from NFPA for our efforts in this regard in indeed a high honor,” said Kramer. “Our hope is that more jurisdictions throughout New Jersey will see the merit in taking the program to their local schools, many of whom last saw instruction in “Stop, Drop, and Roll.” Formulating life-long awareness of the danger that fire can present is certainly a goal worthy of the effort.”

The New Jersey State Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association, the Joshua Marcus Group, IMTT-Bayonne, and Hartz Mountain Corporation of Secaucus were sponsors of this year’s event.

Each winning team member receives a Kindle Fire HDX tablet courtesy of a fire prevention education grant from FM Global of Rhode Island, a major worldwide insurance underwriter.

2014 New Jersey Division of Fire Safety F.I.R.E. Bowl Champions

 

Dwight D. Eisenhower School

(Freehold, NJ)

Thomas O’Brien, Joseph Chiusano,

Alan DeCowski, Michael Yakubov

 

 

Individual Awards:

 

1st Place:

Jessica Kenny                         Joan Marie Tubungbanua

Midtown Community School      Academy 1 Middle School

(Bayonne, NJ)                           (Jersey City, NJ)

 

2nd Place:

Giancarlo Megale                     Paul Weeks

 

 

3rd Place:

Michael Yakubov                      Vivian Sanabria

Eisenhower School                    Belleville Middle School

(Freehold, NJ)                           (Belleville, NJ)

 

 

Team Awards:

 

1st Place:

Academy 1 Middle School                                Dwight D. Eisenhower School

(Jersey City, NJ)                                                (Freehold, NJ)

Arielle Militante, Nelson Castro               vs.        Thomas O’Brien, Joseph Chiusano,

Parth Vora, Joan Marie Tubungbanua                 Alan DeCowski, Michael Yakubov

 

2nd Place:

Colonia Middle School                                    Nicholas Oresko School

(Colonia, NJ)                                                    (Bayonne, NJ)

Jaden Riveles, Sharmi Shah                              Skyler Martinez, Dmitry Shlyapkinov

Akhil Patel, Kelly Branco                                    Sean Manuel, Giancarlo Megale

 

3rd Place:

Woodrow Wilson School                                   Avenel Middle School

(Bayonne, NJ)                                                   (Avenel, NJ)

Paolo Rivera, Jeremy Lewan,                             Matthew Cinelli, Sparsh Desai

Kevin Gonzalez, Jhaelin Mira-Bautista                 Ryan Balog, Dominique Groguhe

 

The Division of Fire Safety’s “Fire Is…” program, also geared toward middle school students, has received nationwide recognition with and endorsement from the National Association of State Fire Marshals. The “Fire Is…” program addresses the very real facts about the danger fire presents through a series of video lessons.

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.