REGINA - As Fire Prevention Week winds down in Regina, local residents were treated to a pancake breakfast on Friday morning.
Members of Regina Fire and Protective Service, along with members of city council and administration as well as Regina Police Service, were on hand for the event at mâmawêyatitân centre.
At the event, city councillors were serving up pancakes and food for those in attendance, while fire department members were showing off the fire truck and answering questions.
Their mascot Sparky the Dog was also there to bring some cheer. Many of those in attendance for the event were students from Scott Collegiate, which adjoins the mâmawêyatitân centre.
This is the 100th Anniversary of Fire Prevention Week in Canada and has been dominated by events promoting this year’s message of “Fire Won’t Wait, Plan Your Escape.”
The events put on by the City of Regina from Oct. 9 to 15 have included two community open houses at fire stations (one of which is scheduled for this Saturday), and events this week at the mâmawêyatitân centre in central Regina.
Those events have mainly promoted an educational message about fire safety, including checking your smoke alarms and how to escape in the event of a fire. While that messaging was also evident at the pancake breakfast event, this was more about the fire department giving back.
Trevor Reiman, Assistant Chief for Education and Training with Regina Fire and Protective Services, said the event was meant to “wrap up the week and for us to give thanks to the community and the school for letting us do our work here for the week.”
“There’s not really heavy fire themes going out today, this is more about showing appreciation to the community, but there are certainly fire themes around this event as well.”
This year's fire prevention activities have also been notable because they are the first extensive public events after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
Earlier this week, Mayor Sandra Masters expressed her appreciation for the work of the fire department, including their effectiveness in educating the public on how to prevent fires.
“I would suggest that if you look back at the statistics and education that the fire department has undertaken over the decades, the reduction in accidental fires and arson has been unbelievable — like it’s been achieved to a complete gold standard. So I think our fire department, our fire folks are interested in getting back into classrooms and continuing that form of education, because we know it works.”
Masters added “the work that Fire and Protective Services does and executes within our City is deeply valued.”
