Members of Chestermere Fire Services (CFS) were out on the lake ice, handing out hot chocolate, and sharing safety tips with youth, residents, and visitors.
On Dec. 31, CFS members spent the afternoon talking with more than 60 people about helmet safety and off-highway vehicle safety.
“For us, the big part is being able to interact with our community, talk about preventative measures,” CFS B-Shift Lieutenant Kimball Yorston said. “Being able to go out, share that message, be out in the community, shake some hands, and interact with the kids is super important for us. It always has been important for the fire service because we would like to spend more time on prevention that we ever would on the actual response.”
CFS has set out a goal of re-engaging with the community and interacting with youth, residents, and visitors, after not being able to due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the summer, CFS visited Chestermere’s beaches, hosted pop-up spray parks, and handed out freezies.
However, while on a call, Yorston saw how many people were utilizing the lake ice and was inspired to hand out hot chocolate while visiting residents and visitors using the ice.
“Part of it was going out and providing a safety message for those that are using off-road vehicles, making sure they had helmets, and congratulating the kids for it,” Yorston said. “Even the skaters, getting a chance to interact and talk about safety with them.”
Yorston is hopeful to get back on the ice with other parts of Chestermere’s emergency response team, including municipal enforcement, and RCMP members, to share safety tips with residents and visitors.
“On days where the peace officers or RCMP members can come out and do that, we would certainly work with them on that, because we work with them on calls all of the time,” Yorston said. “We really enjoy sharing the good news side of it, versus always the response side with them.”
Yorston anticipates CFS will be back out on the ice during the weekends, sharing safety tips with youth, and preventative measures.
“One of the advantages we had, was additional staffing on that day, so we could maintain that operational readiness,” Yorston said. “It was easier for us to do.”
