THUNDER BAY — City residents got a close look inside the North Central fire hall on Saturday.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue participated in the city’s Public Works Open House by opening up the Cumberland Street firehouse to the community.
Residents were able to get a peek of fire prevention, hazmat and auto extrication equipment, as well as boats and ATVs.
Denise Smith was at the open house with her two sons. She said they attended the event because the obsession with fire trucks is "real for both of them."
“One of Simon’s first words is ‘wee-woo wee-woo’ every time he sees a fire truck,” said Smith.
She said it was important to have the open house available to the public to create familiarity with the services in town, especially for kids to feel familiar and comfortable around first responders.
Smith said it was really great that they could come out on Saturday and see everything up close.
“It’s a great opportunity for the young and old to see what happens behind the doors of a fire hall because not everybody gets to know (about) all the things we do,” said Kevin Anderson, the division chief of fire prevention.
When there’s an emergency situation, Anderson said people also can’t come and look at the truck all the time, so the open house gives people an opportunity to see what’s actually inside a fire truck and how the boats work and how they steer them.
“(It's) for young and old. Kids love it obviously, but the old people, I think, love it too,” said Anderson.
It was not Anderson’s first time participating in an open house for the city.
“We have to encourage it,” said Anderson.
"We try to do something once a year and it’s good fire prevention. Obviously, we want always people to prevent fires, but also explain what we do so people can better understand and if they see a fire truck, be respectful, pull over, all those things."
These open houses are also always a little part of early recruitment, he added.
“They get hooked when they’re little and that’s their dream and then someday they might be driving the fire truck,” said Anderson.
