The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

It’s not everyday that a helicopter lands on the playground at Sisters Elementary School, but thanks to being chosen as winner of the 2021 Central Oregon region Firebusters award, the school was treated to a visit by emergency personnel and their equipment and vehicles, on Thursday,

December 2.

The Central Oregon Fire Prevention Co-operative held its 35th annual Firebusters Fire and Life Safety Program earlier this year and Sisters Elementary School was drawn as the winning school from a lottery of schools with the highest level of participation in the program.

Students were treated to seeing the AirLink helicopter land on the playground and got to mingle with fire, ambulance, wildland fire, and other personnel, including Smoky the Bear and Buster the Fire Dog.

Heather Miller from the office of the state fire marshal and the Central Oregon Fire Prevention Co-Op coordinated the outdoor assembly. Before the students started a rotation to interact with the emergency personnel on hand, Miller presented principal Joan Warburg with a plaque commemorating the school’s award.

Every student at Sisters Elementary School received a goodie bag at the conclusion of the gathering that included stickers, pencils, a hat, a whistle, and a coupon for a Happy Meal at McDonald’s.

According to the group’s press release, Central Oregon Fire Prevention Cooperative is a group of fire and life safety educators from local fire agencies whose mission is to promote an interagency exchange of ideas and resources by actively participating through coordinated fire and life safety education programs, projects, and presentations.