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Fire Safety Day, hosted by the Airdrie Fire Department at the Chinook Winds Fire Station today, has seen a multitude of visitors come and go throughout the afternoon.
"The event is just the community coming together and interacting with the agencies," said Airdrie Fire Chief Mike Pirie. "We saw the same thing last year: an uptake in numbers of people coming through."
He noted that there is genuine interest in the residents coming to the Fire Hall to learn about fire safety and prevention and to get to know the city's firefighters.
"This is the first year I've ever seen people lined up with the door before it opened at noon. I've never seen that before, so I think this is a record-breaking year already."
The city's youngest residents were delighted and excited by the various activities to end National Fire Prevention Week.
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"You see these little kids come in their firefighter costumes; they're just really interested and intrigued at that point," Fire Chief Pirie added. "For us, that energy really uplifts us as well. This truly is a fun event. I'm sure I will see some of these young people in the future as well."
Throughout the afternoon, visitors can explore the fire station and engage in various activities for all ages. Highlights included meeting Sparky, the mascot, the city's Fire Chief, and firefighters, enjoying treats and games, and taking home a firefighter hat. Fire trucks are also displayed, and attendees can sit inside a real fire engine.
The event also featured safety demonstrations and educational sessions on fire bans, emergency preparedness, preventing fires in the home, creating family emergency escape plans, and using a fire extinguisher. It wasn't just about the fire safety education portion; ATCO and Dairy Queen sponsored the day's events.
The first 500 participants to complete a Dairy Queen safety passport received a Dilly Bar, and ATCO's mascot, Digger, was also present.
The annual National Fire Prevention Week ran from October 6 to October 12 and focused on the importance of working smoke alarms in homes. This year's campaign slogan, "Smoke alarms: make them work for you!" underscores a message that remains relevant, no matter how banal it may seem.
According to a 2023 report from Statistics Canada, over one in ten residential fires occurred in homes without a smoke alarm. Alarm status was unknown in 38 per cent of these fires, while 37 per cent had working alarms. The report highlighted that homes without functioning smoke alarms accounted for nearly three out of four fire-related deaths—74 percent.
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