Fire safety knowledge pays off
<p>North Idaho Fire Prevention Cooperative members present a bike to Winton Elementary first grader, Daniel L. Valverde III, earlier this month. Daniel won the bicycle and a helmet as part of the cooperative's region wide fire prevention and safety school education program. From left, Mike Saint and Paul Wagner, Idaho Department of Lands; Jenna Miller, National Forest Service; Shane O'Shea, Idaho Department of Lands; Ddaniel Valverde III; Shawn Pearson, National Forest Service; Craig Etherton, Coeur d'Alene Fire; Ashley Kinsey, Idaho Department of Lands; Greg Rod, Coeur d'Alene Fire.<…
COEUR d'ALENE - A Winton Elementary School first-grade student has some new wheels because he did his fire safety homework.
Members of the Fire Prevention Cooperative of North Idaho recently presented the student, Daniel T. Valverde III, with a new bicycle and a helmet, during an assembly at the boy's school.
"The Fire Prevention Cooperative is very proud of Daniel and his family for taking fire and injury prevention seriously," stated a press release sent out by the cooperative. "We would also like to thank all the adults who work with their children on practicing home fire escape drills and home safety."
Daniel was among hundreds of North Idaho youngsters whose names were entered into a drawing for the bike.
Over the last few months, the Fire Prevention Cooperative of North Idaho, composed of all fire agencies in Kootenai County, the Department of Lands, National Forest Service and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, held fire and injury prevention assemblies throughout the area's elementary schools. The program was given at 22 schools and delivered to approximately 2,000 students.
As part of the program the students were asked to go home and complete a fire safety homework assignment - teach their families several safety tips. The children were then asked to bring back their completed assignments to be eligible for entry in the drawing.
Roughly 500 students discussed fire safety with their families and returned their completed homework assignments.
Daniel was surprised when he received the news that he had won the prize during an assembly at Winton.
His father, Daniel Valverde II, said that Daniel had just recently given his bike, that his grandma had bought him, to one of his neighbors because he thought his friend needed it more then he did.