The National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC), located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, announced the selection of the “Benjamin Franklin Fire Writer’s Awards” for 2016. This award program was created in recognition of Benjamin Franklin’s unique combination of being a writer and publisher and simultaneously an advocate for fire protection in the community. Credited with the creation of one of the first fire company’s in 1736 in Philadelphia, Franklin went on to become one of our nation’s treasures as a thinker, writer, and publisher of international repute.
This year’s award winners included the following:
First Place: Authors Robert Cole PhD, Robert Crandall, Carolyn Kourofsky, Daryl Sharp, PhD, Susan Blaakman, and MS, Elizabeth Cole, BS. The program is entitled Juvenile Fire Setting, a Community Guide to Prevention and Intervention and is published by Fire Proof Children. Their handbook forms the foundation for workshops and is still available on the national website. The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry wrote in their review “this book is the mental health professionals best source for understanding juvenile fire setting and crafting office-based interventions for young patients that their families.” The program was nominated by Frank McGarry former New York State Fire Administrator, retired.
Second Place: This is a media presentation addressing a major fire prevention issue for the local, state, national and international level. The title of the program is “Play Safe! Be Safe!” The Play Safe! Be Safe! Program is a multi-faceted, multi-media fire safety education program. It is published by the BIC Corporation. It introduces and demonstrates four essential safety skills for pre-school children. The program has been in existence for over 21 years and has been used at more than 220 workshops. This program was nominated by Krista Fischer.
“These written materials provide clear evidence that writers, journalists, publishers and printers who have made significant contribution to the sharing of knowledge about society’s fire problem are helping to solve America’s fire problem,” said President Ron Coleman of the NFHC.
Individuals wishing to submit material for consideration in this contest for 2017 should visit the Heritage Center Web site at www.nfhc.org to obtain background information on the organization and the writing categories. Applications for entry into this program can be obtained by contacting Ron Coleman at ron@fireforceone.com. The next year’s contest is beginning in January of 2017.
Individuals are encouraged to submit their questions to ron@fireforceone.com. Submissions must be received to the Ron Coleman by June 15, 2017.
