Junior fire chief hails from William Wells Brown
Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, October 10, 2011
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Jadeyshia Robinson will have several opportunities during Fire Prevention Week to explain her award-winning poster.
Surrounded by family, Jadeyshia Robinson received her badge as Lexington’s 2011 junior fire chief, an honor that thrilled the fifth-grader at William Wells Brown Elementary.
“She not only made a great poster but is an excellent student who will represent your school well,” Battalion Chief Marshall Griggs said during Monday morning’s ceremony.
The National Fire Protection Association’s theme for Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 9-15) is “Protect Your Family from Fire.” Jadeyshia’s entry, illustrating a two-story house ablaze, warned against playing with matches. She also noted the importance of planning how to escape danger and deciding where to meet up outside in a safe area.
Each year the Lexington Division of Fire & Emergency Services picks a different elementary school, and fire officials and school leaders choose a fifth-grader to be junior fire chief. Their selection is based partly on the themed poster contest. The child, who must be comfortable in front of crowds, also should be a model citizen and a strong student who can miss a few hours of school.
“Jadeyshia is very active, and that is a big deal,” Mayor Jim Gray said in congratulating her.
She enjoys art, cheerleading, dance and fashion, and her favorite subject is math. She also sings in her church’s youth choir.
Jadeyshia has an even fuller schedule during Fire Prevention Week, starting with Monday night’s downtown festival and parade. She and her family will ride in a special carriage while the school’s poster-contest finalists pile onto a fire truck.
This week Jadeyshia also will tour a fire station, the Blue Grass Airport and Fifth Third Bank’s high-rise building, where she’ll take note of safety features such as the stairwells. She will explain her poster at a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council meeting and have lunch with Fire Prevention Bureau officials. Another highlight will be attending a dance team practice at the University of Kentucky.
Did you know?
In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which Oct. 9 falls. According to the National Archives and Records Administration’s Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest-running public health and safety observance on record. The president has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.
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