Press Release  Annual Burn Awareness Video Contest Underway

STOW — The Department of Fire Services’ annual Burn Awareness Video Contest is underway, and schools with communications courses that focus on media design and production are encouraged to take part.

State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine said the annual contest is a way to raise awareness of the painful, lifelong consequences of misusing fire and to counteract dangerous stunts and challenges that young people may see on social media. The contest is sponsored by DFS, the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriters Association, and Shriners Children’s.

The winners will be announced during Burn Prevention Week, which runs from Feb. 4-10, 2024. This year’s grand prize is a digital video camera for the winning students’ school, courtesy of the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriters Association. The second-place team will share $100 in gift cards from Best Buy, courtesy of Shriners Children’s. The third-place team will share $50 in gift cards from Best Buy courtesy of Shriners Children’s.

The contest is open to students in grades 9-12 who are enrolled in Massachusetts schools. Submissions must be from school-sponsored communications courses or extra-curricular groups. Communications teachers or faculty sponsors are required to review and approve all storyboards before filming starts.

Videos should explore burn prevention topics in one to three minutes. They should be well researched, educational, and informative, and they must not demonstrate risky or unsafe behavior.  Fire may only be depicted through royalty-free stock footage, and not through images recorded by students.

For the complete contest rules, scoring rubric, and submission form, visit the Department of Fire Services’ High School Burn Awareness Video Contest page.

###