Voice of Sparky sought

March 18 marks the 60th birthday of Sparky the Fire Dog, the official mascot of the National Fire Protection Association, which has been teaching children, parents and teachers about fire prevention and public safety for the past six decades.

To kickoff this year-long celebration, the NFPA is launching a "Voice of Sparky" contest to find one special firefighter to be the voice behind this iconic Dalmatian spokesdog.

Through Feb. 16, career and volunteer firefighters as well as other fire department employees can submit videos of themselves giving their best Sparky impersonation on http://www.nfpa.org/SparkysBirthday. A panel of NFPA judges will select three finalists, and America will get to choose the winner by voting for the favorite video submission on Sparky's new Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/SparkyTheFireDog, between Feb. 21 and 28.

The honored firefighter will receive an authentic Sparky the Fire Dog costume, an all-expenses-paid trip to the Boston area to record for the NFPA Fire Prevention Week video, and public education materials to continue spreading the word about how to prevent fires in the home.