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BONNYVILLE – Preparations are now underway for the annual Fire Prevention Week open house at the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA), scheduled for Oct. 11.
The open house will run from 4 p.m. in the afternoon until 8 p.m., and free burgers and hot dogs will be served to everybody.
The BRFA invites the community to its Fire Prevention Week (FPW) open house to learn about fire and life safety. This year’s FPW theme is, “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.”
Alicia Krawchuk, Regional Deputy Fire Chief with the BRFA, says it is important to engage the public on fire safety so they have proper fire safety measures in their homes, like having “proper escape routes they can practice and discuss with their family.”
“One big piece of educational that we like to tell the public is to have working fire alarms or smoke detectors in their house,” she adds, explaining working fire alarms or smoke detectors are important and so is checking batteries and changing them twice a year.
Krawchuk also said the open house event will include demonstrations like airbag deployment in a vehicle, which “is an important feature to know when you’re riding in a vehicle."
“We don’t put our legs up on the dash even though it might feel comfortable because it poses quite the hazard and can cause severe injuries,” said Krawchuk. “So, we really want to reinforce the safety aspect and the impact that airbags can have when you’re not riding in a vehicle properly.”
Children and youth will also have the opportunity to have some fun with a miniature fire truck that kids can ride around the fire station in the parking lot, according to Krawchuk.
“Everybody’s favourite Fire Hall pooch, Sparky, is probably going to be making an appearance as well,” she said, sounding excited herself at the prospect of Sparky’s appearance.
Community members can also use the opportunity to meet local firefighters. Krawchuk said volunteer firefighters are what makes the BRFA run, and there are only a few paid staff members at the organization, including Krawchuk.
“They’re really the heart and soul of everything that we do,” said Krawchuk, explaining that one of the organization’s goals is to always welcome more volunteers into the station. In total, there are approximately 160 firefighters serving nine Fire Stations under the BRFA – and they are all volunteers.
Prior to Fire Prevention Week, crews will also visit local schools to talk about fire safety and prevention.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an international non-profit organization, has designated Oct. 9-15 as 2022 Fire Prevention Week. According to a June 14 NFPA news release, this year’s theme promotes potentially life-saving messages “that can mean the difference between life and death in a fire.”
