The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Black Butte School students in Camp Sherman enjoyed activities with Buster the Fire Dog and fire service personnel last week as the winner of an event through the Central Oregon Fire Prevention Cooperative (Co-Op) and their 37th Annual Firebusters Fire & Life Safety program.

The program includes five 30-second fire-and-life safety videos targeted for students kindergarten to fifth grade. Videos are available by watching the morning or evening news on KTVZ, on YouTube, or on the KTVZ or Co-Op websites and social media pages. Students receive a worksheet to reinforce the lessons learned, and then turn it in when completed for a prize. At the conclusion of the program, all schools with over 50 percent participation are entered into a drawing to receive a Grand Prize Assembly that includes a visit from Buster the Fire Dog, the AirLink helicopter, and local emergency responder vehicles. Students also receive a goodie bag.

This year the program ran during National Fire Prevention Week, which was October 9-13. Some 15,000 worksheets were distributed to 38 elementary schools throughout Central Oregon. Safety topics for the program included: What to say when calling 9-1-1, Bike Safety, Seatbelt Safety, Wildfire Evacuation Planning, and Cooking Safety. Seven schools had 50 percent or more students participate in the program to be eligible in the grand prize drawing.

Black Butte School was drawn as the winner of the Grand Prize Assembly. The Co-Op held the assembly at the school on Wednesday, November 29.

The 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.