Logan Conitz loved firetrucks. He was shy, but he warmed up quickly to people and seemed to love everyone he met in his three years.

"Logan - he was awesome," Brian Heinert said, smiling as he reminisced about the boy, who was the son of his cousin, Jason Conitz. "He loved everybody."

Logan and his mother, Kelly Conitz, died Dec. 29, 2001, in an apartment fire in Mandan. A candle apparently started a Christmas tree on fire, sending smoke throughout the apartment.

"Ever since it happened, I wanted to do something,"Heinert said.

During next week's fire prevention parade in Mandan, Heinert and his wife, Sarah, will kick off a toy drive in honor of Logan, called Logan's Love. They plan to collect toys for children who lose their belongings in fires in the Bismarck-Mandan area.

Heinert started as a volunteer with the Mandan Fire Department about six months ago. Since then, he's seen several fires destroy homes. Often, nothing could be recovered from inside homes.

Children may have a hard time understanding what has happened when their homes are destroyed. The Heinerts hope to add a little comfort to the lives of children who lose so much by giving them baskets of toys.

"I can't imagine what it would be like," Heinert said.

He said he and his wife plan to assemble baskets for children who lose their things in fires. The baskets will be made specifically for each child.

Though the items they plan to put together for children will not replace everything they lose, Heinert said their hope is to give children going through a hard time some comfort and something to call their own. Baskets will be made for infants through teenagers.

Heinert wants Logan's Love to be a lasting memorial to the little boy who lost everything in that 2001 fire, and he hopes someday to involve his own children, who are 2 years old and 9 months old.

"Logan touched a lot of people in his short life and left a lasting impression on our hearts," a pamphlet for Logan's Love says. "He may not be with us, but Logan's Love will touch many who weren't lucky enough to meet him and help keep his memory alive."

People can donate toys and blankets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Mandan Fire Station, 110 Collins Ave., during fire prevention day activities. Donations also can be dropped with Norleen Conitz, Logan's grandmother, at State Farm Insurance at 1003 Sunset Drive in Mandan, or with Renae Haug at State Farm Insurance in Bismarck, 712 E. Bowen Ave.

For more information, call Brian or Sarah Heinert at 391-4167, or e-mail them at loganslove@;bis.midco.net.

Besides the Logan's Love kick-off, many other events will be going on in Mandan on Tuesday, firefighter Shane Welitkol said.

An emergency vehicle parade will leave the Mandan Rural Fire Department station, 3014 34th St N.W., at 6:30 p.m. and travel to the Mandan Fire Station. A variety of activities will be available at the Mandan Fire Station at 7 p.m., including firetruck rides, a car extraction demonstration, fingerprinting and identification cards for children, and face painting. Hot dogs and pop will be available.

For more information on the event, call the Mandan Fire Department at 667-3288.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)