Four students left John Small Elementary School on stretchers Friday, but they were not sick or injured.

The stretcher rides out of the school to a waiting fire engine and ambulance are a tradition for winners of the annual contest in which students develop escape plans for their homes should those homes ever catch on fire. The plans are part of the Great Escape Plan Challenge’s exit drills in the home competition sponsored by the Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS Department.

This year’s winner were fourth-graders Jessica Mandoza and Olivia Paszt and fifth-graders Nattryal Banks and Sara Hudson.

“I learned about fire escaping, how to get out, how to be safe,” said Sara when asked what participating in the project taught her.

“I think that it’s important to have two ways out and two ways in,” said Olivia when asked what she learned by taking part in the project.

“I learned safety’s first in everything. If you’re getting out of a burning building, save yourself and everyone else,” Jessica replied when asked what the project taught her.

“It taught me that safety comes first when trying to escape a fire,” Nattryal said about what he learning by taking part in the project.

Engineer Otis Harrell presented certificates to the students, saying their winning entries show they understand the importance of having plans to escape from burning homes.

After the pizza party, the students and some of their family members were lifted 100 feet into the sky by the department’s Ladder 1 aerial platform.