“Fire Chief for a Day” has been part of Ashcroft Fire Rescue for many decades, and this year two students at Desert Sands Community School were chosen to take part in some very special and fun events that had a serious undertone.
On Nov. 7, this year’s two fire chiefs — Tasia Antoine and Mack Lysyshyn — were picked up at their homes in Engine 3 and taken to Tim Hortons to start their day off with a doughnut before being dropped at school. Engine 3 was there to pick up Tasia and Mack (as well as Mack’s brother Sully) after school and take them for a drive around town before they headed to the Ashcroft fire hall.
There the two chiefs were given a tour of the hall, where they admired the trophy awarded to the winner of the annual “Guns and Hoses” charity hockey match. Tasia and Mack were each presented with a goody bag with fire department swag to take home with them.
The theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week was “Smoke Alarms: Make Them WORK For You!”, and Ashcroft fire chief Josh White says that the importance of smoke alarms was stressed when he spoke with students in pre-school through Grade 6. All the kids were asked “Do you have working smoke detectors in your home?” and not everyone could answer.
“Every grade level is a little different in terms of what I talk about,” says White. “With the Grade 6 students I talk about the serious outcomes of fire, and with all the students I talk about 9-1-1 and what number to call in an emergency, as well as what’s an emergency and what isn’t.”
It’s not just students who can learn from Fire Chief for a Day: White has some questions for adults as well as kids. These include:
1. Do you have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home?
2. Are they newer than 10 years of age?
3. Have the batteries been changed in the last six months?
Whatever your answers to these questions, take a tip from Ashcroft Fire Rescue and stay safe out there.
