Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department – 2022 Fire Safety Poster and Essay Contest

Poster Contest and Essay Rules

The fire safety poster and essay contest are open to ages 3-12th grade that reside in the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department’s first due area (generally Ashton, Sandy Spring, Olney communities).

• Children ages 3 through 1st grade can participate in our coloring contest.  (Downloadable Coloring Page)
• Those in the 2nd – 8th grades can participate in the poster contest, and
• Those in the 9-12th grades can participate in the essay contest.

With the help of our community the contest gives students the ability to express how they view fire safety and fire prevention within our communities and at home.

The posters should indicate an important safety message that might include safety concerns for such activities as:

• If there is an emergency call 911
• Firefighters are our friends
• Smoke alarms save lives
• Keep kids at least three feet from the stove

The poster should be created on a standard poster board 11″ x 14″ and can be created using crayons, watercolors, tempera paints, colored paper, fabrics, or other materials commonly used for art projects in school.

• No partially burned objects, such as spent matches, can be used on the poster.
• No computer-generated artworks or photographs may be used. Clippings from magazines, newspapers and books are not appropriate.

Please include an explanation of at least 25 words written by the child, if possible, telling us why this fire prevention message is important.

Clearly print the child’s first and last name along with age/grade level/school attending, and phone number on the back of the poster/coloring page.

The posters will be judged by members of the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department.

First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in each level. The winners will be invited, along with their parents, to our monthly Department Meeting to show off their hard work, pictures of the winners along with their work will be placed on our website and have an article in the Greater Olney News. Poster judging will take into consideration the appeal of the fire safety message, 75%; artistic ability, originality, and neatness, 25%.

You may drop off your poster and coloring pages to the designated drop box at Station 04 (17921 Brooke Road, Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860) or Station 40 (16911 Georgia Avenue, Olney, Maryland 20832) between Sunday, October 9, and Sunday, October 23, 2022.

Email essays to: [email protected] between Sunday, October 9 and Sunday, October 23, 2022

All posters and essays become the property of the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department and will not be returned.