THORNTON -- Her colleagues say Elise Bennett is "the personification of leadership in the field of fire and life safety." For that reason, and many others, they named her the 2005 Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year at the Colorado Emergency Services, Safety and Prevention Conference.

Kay Wooley of the North Metro Fire District nominated Bennett for the award saying, "Without Elise's dedication and support to public education locally and statewide, I believe FSEC and Thornton Fire would not be the significant force behind fire and life safety they are today."

Wooley credits Bennett's honor for her dedication in designing, developing, implementing and presenting the Fire Department's public education programs in Thornton.

"She continually works with her community to improve inter-agency relationships," says Wooley, "and she is dedicated to solving juvenile fire setter issues not only in her city, but the State of Colorado as well."

In her work for the City of Thornton, Bennett designs and promotes safety programs like bicycle safety, free smoke detectors for senior citizens, the 'Life Safety House': teaching children how to escape from a smoke-filled environment, and most importantly, working with children and teens who have been involved in setting fires.

Bennett has worked for the City of Thornton Fire Department for six years. For more information about Thornton's Fire Education Programs, please contact Bennett at 303-538-7657.