Booker T. Washington fifth-grader to serve as junior fire chief

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Darrius Garr, a fifth-grader at Booker T. Washington Intermediate Academy, will serve as Lexington’s junior fire chief for 2015. This year’s nationwide theme for Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 4-10) is “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep,” meaning that every bedroom needs a working smoke alarm. “It’s so you don’t get burned when there’s a fire in your house,” said Darrius, whose winning poster features a bright red fire engine speeding to the rescue.

Each fall, Lexington’s Division of Fire & Emergency Services selects a different elementary school for its essay/poster/brochure contest, and the school’s staff chooses a fifth-grader to wear the badge for the week. The honoree should be a model citizen and a good student who can miss a few hours of school, as well as be comfortable in front of crowds. The other finalists at Booker T. Washington Intermediate were Brandy Aguilar, Chris Ignacio, Lyric Lilly, Ramon Martinez and Giovanni Perez.

Darrius has a full schedule in his honorary role, including this Sunday’s downtown festival and parade where he and his family will ride in a carriage. Other highlights range from appearances on local news shows to tours of the firefighters’ training academy, Keeneland, the Fifth Third Bank or “Big Blue” building, the University of Kentucky Art Museum, and a horse farm. Darrius will also present his poster at the Oct. 6 LFUCG council meeting. His brief term wraps up with a tour of Blue Grass International Airport and a ride on a ladder truck.