The sound of children’s laughter could be heard coming from Centennial Park in Callander as families gathered on a warm summer’s day to enjoy the annual Sirens in the Park event.
Before Sirens in the Park, there was Heroes in the Sky, an event organized by the Callander Fire Department, where firefighters spent 30 hours on the roof of Callander Square, drawing attention to the work they do, with fire prevention education activities going on in the parking lot below.
A few years later, that event evolved into Sirens in the Park hosted by Callander Fire & Emergency Services.
Nearly 17 years later, it remains a free one-day fun event where children and adults can interact with local first responders in a stress-free environment, learning about the work they do and ways the community can stay safe.
“It has evolved into a showcase of all the emergency services that are involved in keeping people safe, rescuing people, and helping people in their time of need from Red Cross to the Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Response,” explained Callander Fire Chief Todd Daley.
“We have an MNR crew here, and they’ve been fighting wildfires in the northwest part of Ontario, and the District of Nipissing Paramedic Services, which has its C.A.M.P vehicle here, which is Clinical Access Mobile Partnership.”
The public was encouraged to experience emergency vehicle tours by climbing on fire trucks, exploring police cruisers and ambulances.
Youngsters learned safety through interactive play.
“For some people it is pushing sirens and buttons for the kids, but if it plants a seed, if we can get some information out about fire prevention and safety, whether it is police, paramedics, or fire that is part of the mission, getting people to see things in a non-crisis situation,” said the fire chief.
“Police are here to talk about what is involved in policing, and they’re recruiting along with other services.”
Sirens in the Park attracted people from across the district.
“It has been busy; I think three or four hundred went through our fire prevention. It is spread out; there are a lot of different things. We even did a little obstacle course for the kids so they can carry a hose, drag a large teddy bear out of the 'fire', and put the 'fire' out using the mock firehouse and water hose. Again, it is just planting seeds,” shared Daley.
Brothers Easton and Reese Ricker took full advantage of the obstacle course and mock firehouse, competing against one another.
“It was fun how you got to grab the hoses, run to grab the teddy bears, and then put out the fire,” shared Easton.
“I liked putting out the fire and grabbing the teddy bears,” stated brother Reese.
Children also enjoyed playing on the bouncy castles, and later in the evening, a free screening of Disney-Pixar’s new film Hoppers.