Kids get smart while having fun
The Àre safety house and squirting water at targets were two of the most popular activities with kids at Saturday’s FireSmart Family Day.
It was hosted by West Kelowna Fire Rescue, the City of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation at Fire Station 31 in West Kelowna.
This is the third year FireSmart has been combined with an open house in May.
“I think it’s great for us to invite the community into the Àre hall and see where we operate from and the trucks that we use to keep them safe,” said Fire Chief Jason Broland.
Along with seeing inside the Àre station, kids could fill their passports with stickers as they visited interactive stations to learn about Àre safety, including planning an escape route, crawling low under smoke and watching a ÀreÀghter gear up so they wouldn’t be afraid in case of an emergency.
Kids lined up to get inside the Àre safety house, a small house on loan from the Kelowna Fire Department, for a simulation of how to get out of their home safely in case of Àre.
“I learned Àre can spread really fast and you just have to make sure you get down so the smoke doesn’t affect you as much,” said Charlotte Politis-Blue, 10, adding it’s important to learn about Àre safety so you can be prepared.
Joeni Milne, 4, loved all the stations and even coloured a picture thanking the firefighters for saving people’s houses.
“We’ve had a great time,” said her mom. “It’s good for kids to know Àre safety,”
Along with the learning stations, there was a free hotdog barbecue and kids got to have fun spraying water at targets and jumping in the bouncy castle in the parking lot.
For adults, Emergency Support Services and the regional district were on hand urging people to be prepared for a disaster, be it Àre, Áood or landslide, with a 72-hour disaster preparedness kit and evacuation plan ready.
“Have your grab and go kits ready,” said Sue MacDonald of Emergency Support Services “Figure out what you’re going to do if there is an emergency.”
The Okanagan Master Gardeners were offering FireSmart tips on ways people could protect their homes before the start of the hot dry weather by keeping the Àrst 10-metres from their house free of all materials that could easily ignite from a wildÀre, as well as recommending local FireSmart plants such as lavender, yucca and Oregon grape.
“The amount of rain we get in the next four to six weeks will determine what kind of Àre season we have — also determine what kind of Áooding season we have,” Broland said.