Fire prevention week in Tillsonburg is packed full of activities.
Although Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 6 to 12, events will start on Friday, Oct. 4 with family movie night at the Tillsonburg Library. Pre-registration is required for this event, where families can meet a firefighter, watch a movie and have snacks.
Sarah Barclay, Tillsonburg fire and life public educator, said this event is already full and there is a wait list.
The next day, Tillsonburg Fire Department, in conjunction with Rona and the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, will be promoting fire prevention at Rona from 1-3 p.m. Discussion will be along the theme of Smoke alarms: Make them work for you.
Barclay provided more detail, saying they will talk about smoke alarms, placement and technology.
“A lot of people aren’t aware of the new technology out there,” she said.
The big event will be on Thursday, Oct. 10 with the open house at the fire hall.
“Every year our open house just get bigger and bigger,” Barclay said. “Last year we had over 200 people.”
After firefighters spent a lot of time polishing trucks, all of the department’s wheeled assets will be on display from the ladder truck to tankers. This is just the beginning of fun for the night, though. There will be an opportunity to try on bunker gear, face painting, equipment demos, face painting, and even Tim Hortons. The special operations may do a rope demonstration, and there may be an auto excavation.
The fire extinguisher prop is always popular. Although the name doesn’t reveal a lot, this display has a flame and the opportunity for the public to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
“It simulates putting out a fire. A lot of people haven’t had the opportunity to use a fire extinguisher,” Barclay said, adding pull, aim, squeeze and sweep is the basics of it.
Ox on the Run mobile library will also be on site to provide loan of books on fire safety and other topics.
Of course, there will also be an emphasis on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.