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Safety and fun at Yellowknife fire hall open house

1810firP7(WEB)

A three year old driving a fire truck is not something you see everyday.

This was just one of the dreams children got to fulfill at the annual Yellowknife Fire Services open house. Hundreds of families came out to watch a grease fire being extinguished, crawl around inside a fire truck, stop-drop-and-roll in a bouncy castle filled with smoke and play with the gadgets in an ambulance.

Fire chief John Fredericks said the day was a chance for the fire department to meet the community and for the community to learn about fire hazards in the home.

“We always hit on smoke detectors, the importance of making sure that they operate, escape plan,” he said. “Then the dangers that we have at home. Anything with a heating element is a danger and just trying to hit that awareness with dryers, cooking fires. Everything that we plug in, from a hair dryer to a curling iron to a coffeemaker, they're all potential hazards at home.”

Fredericks also hoped to recruit at least 12 18-year-olds for the fire service. Although many of the visitors had several years to go before then, Fredericks added the service has a cadet program where high schoolers can gain credits towards becoming a Level 1 firefighter.