CAL Fire/Fresno County Fire's fire prevention contest letting kids be creative

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- School may not be in session, but Taia Villegas is learning valuable lessons outside of the classroom.

"I want everyone to know that fire safety is really important," she said.

The nine-year-old was named one of six winners of Cal Fire Fresno County's fire prevention video contest.

"It was fun and exciting because I got to share my video with everyone," Villegas said.

Fire Prevention Specialist Stacey Nolan says children ages 2-12 entered the contest.

"Whether it's no, don't touch the matches no, don't touch the lighter, Taia's was smoke alarms and escape routes and other people talked about wildland fires," she said.

The kids got creative and even gave examples of what not to do. The video contest served as more than a lesson in fire safety.

"We are all educators," Nolan said. "It doesn't matter if you're in my position, whether you're a teacher. We all have that message to be able to share."

Cal Fire is posting a new winner each Friday. So far, three of the six winners have been announced.

The outreach was so successful they say they plan to bring back the video contest again.