Sparky The Firedog Turns 72

Sparky the Firedog, a staple of Cibola County’s fire education in elementary schools across the county, turned 72 on March 19.

Sparky has been visiting classrooms across Cibola for decades. The firedog is prominent in field trips, the annual Grants MainStreet Holiday Light Parade, and at all educational activities put on by local fire departments.

Sparky the Firedog asks Cibola’s students to take a pledge that they will learn about fire safety; the pledge can be found at https://sparky.org/pledge.

“I Hereby Pledge I will be a: “Smoke Alarm Superstar “Escape Planning Expert “Hazard Hunter Hero” These three topics are necessary for helping Cibola’s youth better understand fire safety.

Being a smoke alarm superstar means, “I know that every home needs working smoke alarms. I will: “Know the sound a smoke alarm makes. Beep, Beep, Beep!

“Get outside and stay outside when I hear the smoke alarm.

“Ask a grown-up to test the smoke alarms once a month” Being an escape planning expert means, “I will make a home fire escape plan with my family which includes: “Two ways out of every room.

“A safe outside meeting place.

“Practicing our plan at least twice a year.”

Being a hazard hunter hero means, “I will always: “Remember the threefoot “kid-free zone” around anything that could get hot. “Stay away from anything that is hot or could be hot.”

These three simple tools will make it so that children, their families, and the homes they live in will be better protected from fire danger.

Any Cibola resident can take the free pledge. Fire departments across Cibola County have less fires to fight when residents are equipped with tools to protect and prevent fires. The Cibola Citizen took the Sparky’s fire pledge, and challenges all of Cibola’s families to take the pledge with their children.