Nine-year-old Rechyn Lopez Oleatan has won this year’s Airdrie Fire Department Junior Fire Chief award for an essay she wrote on fire safety.
As part of the annual Junior Fire Chief program, Grade 4 students from across Airdrie were invited to submit essays about this year's Fire Prevention Week theme: “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape.”
Airdrie's Deputy Fire Chief James Kostuk said Rechyn’s essay was very passionate, and that is why the department picked her for the Junior Fire Chief award this year.
In one section of her essay, Rechyn wrote, “Seriously people! Always have a fire extinguisher handy in case of a fire. You can replace your house, but you can’t replace your family.”
Kostuk said students like Rechyn are great ambassadors for the fire department when it comes to getting life-saving messages like these out to the community.
“These are our little fire guardians in the community,” he stated. “So when we give them a message, they take it home. They relay the message to the rest of their family and their parents. They are little sponges when it comes to fire safety; so it’s extremely important to include them.”
Kostuk said recipients of the Junior Fire Chief award get a special Junior Fire Chief T-shirt, a special lunch at a local fire station, and a free ride from their school to that lunch in a fire truck. The Junior Fire Chief also rides along with the fire department during the Canada Day Parade in July.
When asked which of these prizes she was most excited about after winning the Junior Fire Chief award, Rechyn said she was just happy to win.
“This is my first time winning anything,” she said with a big smile. “The most exciting thing is that I won!”
Secondly, Rechyn said she was happy to help spread a fire safety message to people in the city.
“That they should always have an escape plan so everybody can be safe,” she said.
