Alongside this year's Fire Prevention theme of "Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Yours Every Month!", the Estevan Fire Rescue Service will be holding an open house for the public on Oct. 8 that will allow them to meet the staff and tour their facility.
Fire Prevention Week, which starts on Oct. 8 and wraps up on Oct. 11, was established following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 that killed more than 250 people and left 100,000 homeless. Every year since then, a new theme has been tied to Fire Prevention Week and this year's, deputy fire chief Dale Feser said, was a great fit with their department's existing slogan, "Children Don't Hear Smoke, They Hear Smoke Alarms."
He added they will be continuing their annual door-to-door campaign that involves checking residents' smoke alarms and installing one if there isn't one in place. This year however, as a result of a heavier emphasis on marketing and publicity, an open house from 3 p.m. to around 9 p.m. will be held on Oct. 8 and will provide people in Estevan an opportunity to participate in a meet and greet with the fire service.
"We're trying to market our fire department because this is a business and people need to understand what our business is," said Feser, noting the family friendly environment will contain an obstacle course and allow residents to bring in their smoke alarms for repair or a new battery.
"A lot of the general public don't know exactly what the fire services are about. It's not just about going to car crashes, putting out fires and rescuing cats," said Feser.
He noted their increased involvement with hazardous materials, accentuated by their expanding hazmat material trailer that also received a new generator and the growing number of members on their Hazardous Material Response Team.
"We live in an oil-filled city and chemicals are aplenty," said Feser.
The expansion of the services provided by the fire department in Estevan is closely linked to the growing population and the record number of calls they've received in 2014, which so far has hit 178. In 2009, the number was 99.
Feser said a significant number of them are false alarms, but an increasing number of calls recently are also linked to carbon monoxide alarms and wildland fires.
The deputy fire chief acknowledged the fact that their job can be highly time consuming, but encourages anyone interested in joining the department to do so.
"It's so, so satisfying. What better job can you have than knowing you're helping somebody in their time of greatest need? The self-satisfaction is worth more than any other monetary value," he said.
