SPRINGFIELD — Students from Springfield Central High School finished in top placings in the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services’ Burn Awareness Video Contest, the department recently announced.
Student Mateo Cintron won first place for his video “The Three C’s of Burn Safety,” while Victor Alvarado Colon’s video “Fire Destroys” was awarded with an honorable mention, the department stated.
The Burn Awareness Video Contest first started in 2008 following an increase in social media promoting dangerous challenges, DFS Public Information Officer Jake Wark said. The contest aimed to help students “put their creativity to work” while also learning about burn awareness.
The annual contest asks students to create a 1-3 minute video about burn safety. Submissions are reviewed by a panel with focuses on education, technical skill and creativity, Wark said. A first, second and third place winner is then chosen along with three honorable mentions. This year, 69 teams of students submitted a video, he stated.
Cintron and Colon both participated in the contest through an assignment in their advanced video production class, their teacher Michael Aloisi told Reminder Publishing. He explained that he was notified of the contest by the Department of Fire Services and that this was the first time his class entered submissions.
In total, seven students submitted videos to the contest, Aloisi said. During the process, each student decided on their topic, researched, wrote a script, filmed and edited their video.
For Cintron, the process to create his one minute, 37 second video took three weeks, he said. His video focused on the correct procedure for treating a burn. In the video, Cintron advises viewers to run cool water on the burn for 20 minutes, call 911 if the burn is severe and cover the injury in loose cling film. He explained that he was inspired to create this video from the use of Bunsen burners in his chemistry class, which mirrors the situation demonstrated in his video.
Colon’s video highlighted the devasting impact of forest fires, stating that 85% each year are started from human actions. The video urges viewers to “treat nature as if it’s your home” alongside images of burning forests.
The Springfield Central High School students were honored at a May 9 ceremony at their school by the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriters Association, Shriners Children’s Boston, the Springfield Fire Department and Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, DFS said.
The Burn Awareness Video Contest is run through a partnership with the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriters Association and Shriners Children’s Boston, who fund the winner prizes, Wark said. For first place, Cintron won a 4K digital video camera while second place won a $100 Best Buy gift card and third place won a $50 Best Buy gift card.
Nauset Regional High School students Patrick Ellsasser, Gianna Casale, Sophia Cole, Andrew Kean, Troy Gregory and Tyler Smith won second place in the contest while Dartmouth High School students Sierra Hart and Ella Moe won third place, the department stated.
