[October 30, 2015]      

On Thursday morning, Sydney Loeffler of Lincoln was given a ride to school by the city of Lincoln Fire Department. Sydney received this special ride because she was the first place winner of the fire department’s Fire Prevention and Safety Poster Contest in the third grade class division. In Sydney’s grade level, 58 students from schools throughout the city of Lincoln submitted entries. Sydney is the daughter of James and Natalie Loeffler of Lincoln and attends Washington-Monroe School.

Firefighters Brett Tripplett and Ty Johnson arrived at Sydney’s home in Engine 5104 early on Tuesday. There waiting for them was Sydney with her younger sister Violet who would go along on the ride, her mom and her grandparents. After taking time for a few pictures, Sydney and Violet were buckled into the back seats of the fire truck and off they went. The girls were treated to a short ride around town, then arrived at Washington-Monroe with the red lights flashing.

In spite of a light rain falling, several of Sydney’s school mates were outside waiting for her to arrive. Some of the students knew what was going on and some didn’t, so seeing the fire truck with lights flashing stop at the school was quite exciting for everyone.

When Sydney and Violet got out of the truck they were greeted with clapping and cheers, as they entered the school.

Sydney’s winning poster is an all-inclusive story about how to proceed when a fire occurs in one’s home. She addresses the rules of having a meeting place, getting out and not going back in, and staying low when there is smoke in the room. Her poster also offers some valuable advice to all youngsters and parents; don’t play with fire such as matches and lighters, sleep with your bedroom door closed, and remember to check those smoke and fire detectors.

Pictures by Nila Smith