Published on December 22, 2025
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Fayetteville Academy third-grade students were recently selected as the winners of this year's Fayetteville Fire Department’s “Paint the Tile” Contest. Ms. Ashley Lee’s third-grade art class was one of five schools selected to participate in this year’s contest. Their artwork will be featured in Fire Station Six.
The class celebrated with a pizza party hosted by Sparky and the Fayetteville Fire Station Six crew.
Students in the class also had the opportunity to ride in the Fayetteville Christmas Parade with the firefighters to showcase their tile.
“The Paint the Tile Contest is an impactful way for our firefighters to engage with students while reinforcing the importance of fire safety,” said Fire Chief Kevin Dove. “By learning about fire prevention at school, students become strong messengers at home, sharing what to do to prevent fires and how to respond safely.”
Each year, a selected fire station invites third-graders to participate and submit original artwork on a ceiling tile to be displayed in the fire station for residents and visitors to view. The schools selected to participate are in the service area of the fire station. The fire stations rotate each year.
Beginning in 2021, the Paint the Tile Contest was an interactive initiative to engage with students and the community. The goal of the contest is to help students spark an interest in the fire service and spread fire safety messaging.
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