Shelton 4th Grader's Fire Safety Poster In Running for State Title

“It’s important to learn, so you don’t get burned.”

Those words penned by 9-year-old Haley Adcox, featured on her prize-winning fire prevention safety poster, has landed her a chance to compete at the state level.

On Thursday, Haley’s poster will compete with 32 other entries from across the state for a shot to win the top fire prevention poster for all of Connecticut. A luncheon is scheduled to take place in Cromwell, where state fire officials will select the winning poster. Haley will be accompanied to the event by her parents, sister, teacher Susan McAlee and Fire Marshal Jim “Chic” Tortora. If she wins, Haley’s poster will be featured on the cover of a 2012 state fire prevention safety calendar.

“We are excited and elated that Haley's poster has been chosen to represent not only Shelton, but Fairfield County,” said Tortora. “For her poster to get this far in the contest shows not only her creative abilities, but also the great importance of fire safety expressed through children to their families. We also recognize the efforts of her teachers for their interest in the importance of fire safety. The Shelton Fire Marshal's Office and Fire Department wish (Haley) the best in her quest to have her poster chosen as the state’s top fire prevention poster."

Haley, a fourth grader at , took first place for her poster at the local level last year. Out of 600 posters submitted by fourth and fifth graders from the Shelton school district, Haley’s poster took top billing. Her poster then went on to capture first place at the regional level, and a chance to represent Fairfield County at the state level.

For her artistic ability and awareness about fire prevention, Haley won $350 in savings bonds, and if she clinches the state title, will nab a $1,000 savings bond.

“I’m so proud of her,” McAlee. “The whole class is excited for her. Haley is a wonderful student; she’s very smart and hard-working and loves to help her fellow students.”

Haley told McAlee she was quite excited to have her poster considered to represent the entire state, in terms of teaching kids and their parents the importance of the basics, like “stop, drop and roll,” as well as calling 9-1-1 in an emergency.

The contest theme was "Fire Prevention - Everyone/Everyday," and drew more than 30,000 students nationally to participate in creating posters and essays about the importance of fire safety.

Haley’s colorful poster depicts a young bespectacled girl thoroughly engaged in a book about fire prevention, while a stack of books, boasting fire safety themes, sit nearby.

The annual contest is a sponsored locally by the Shelton Fire Marshal’s Office/Fire Prevention Bureau, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association, the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut Board of Education and the Connecticut FAIR Plan, an insurance provider.