Next week will be dedicated to emergency preparedness in Fort Saskatchewan.
The city is planning multiple events for kids and residents to help them better understand the resources that go into responding to emergencies in the city.
Activities will start on Monday (May 7) at the Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department.
"We're encouraging anybody ages 10 and under to come on out and participate in a jr. fire fit course [on Monday]," said fire chief Todd Martens. "They will be able to push and pull and participate in fire department activities like regular firefighters do."
There will also be a colouring contest at the station, with chances to win gift baskets.
The week will then end on a high note next Saturday (May 13) with a BBQ and touch-a-truck event. The first 250 people will be able to enjoy free hotdogs, juice and coffee in the station's parking lot.
Though the week is expected to bring out smiles and spread joy, Martens is also hopeful it will help people better understand how to be prepared if an emergency in the city arises, specifically fires.
"We have extremely dry conditions, so just being aware that if there is a fire, you could have to evacuate," said Martens. "Being prepared is the key piece to that, so making sure you have medications, your passports, stuff for your pets so if you would have to evacuate you would have some tools to do that."
Martens is also encouraging people to sign up for Fort Sask Alerts, a city-run system that will send notifications during emergencies.
The city also plans on testing its community warning sirens on Monday (May 7) at about 11 a.m.
"It's just a test that we do in the spring for emergency preparedness," said Martens. "Ignore it for this one, but should you hear them at any other time go to social media to see what those sirens are [going off] for."
There are currently fire bans across the region, including in Fort Saskatchewan, Strathcona County, Sturgeon County, and Lamont County.