North Texas fifth-graders' reputation on fire after fire truck contest
Harrison Intermediate School in Wylie has two winners on the roll: Bode Williams and Fisher Nash.
The two join a list of students from the Wylie Independent School District who named fire trucks in the city of Wylie.
"The public is who we serve, and public outreach is very important for us," Chief Brandon Blythe. "And so it's very important for us to engage at that youngest level."
Wylie Fire and Rescue Chief Brandon Blythe said his department has made it a tradition to allow students to name certain department trucks. Blythe had two quintuplet trucks called "quints" that needed naming.
Williams and Nash were among hundreds of entries the department received from elementary and intermediate students. Some were childlike.
"Yeah, Clifford [the Big Red Dog] was a big one this year," Blythe said. "That was a big one this year. There's always some sort of Big Red Truck."
However, the names represent the department, even though the suggestions come from the youngest minds.
"And the firemen, they go into fires without complaining or doing anything," Williams said. "They go in and they're really brave."
Williams submitted the name "Fury" and did not think he would win.
"And I came up with the name Titan because firefighters are brave and strong and smart, just like the Titans from Greek mythology," Nash said.
The boys, who know each other at school, were picked up after school and got to ride in the quints with their names engraved on the driver's seat.
"I got to honk the horn and turn on the sirens and stuff," Nash said.
Blythe said the names stay with the trucks for twenty years. By then, he has two very interested young candidates who want to suit up.
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