Melfort and area residents were able to get hands on experience, such as extinguishing a fire, during the fire department's open house. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Fire Prevention Week in Melfort

‘Community connection is essential’: Melfort Fire wants to continue opening its doors

Oct 11, 2019 | 10:00 AM

The Melfort Fire Department has a tradition of hosting an open house every year during Fire Prevention Week, and 2019 was no different.

Melfort and area residents showed up to the city’s fire hall on Oct. 10 to meet their local firefighters, play with gear, and get a peak behind the curtain of a firefighters’ life.

It was the second open house for Jason Everitt since he became Melfort’s Fire Chief in July 2019. While this year’s crowd wasn’t as busy as his first, he was thrilled with the public’s interest.

“The people who came down seemed to have a good evening and really that’s what matters,” Everitt told northeastNOW. “We had people here early coming in and there was great participation from the people; we had a lot of different hands on stations. We want to engage with the public and let them see who we are and what we do.

Everitt’s values for what a fire chief should do includes keeping the community updated with what their local fire department is all about and being hands on.

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During time between when the Melfort Fire Department prepares its list of asks for the 2020 city budget, Everitt said there will be a few more public events the department will be involved in, such as the Rotary Club’s emergency services appreciation dinner and potentially Melfort’s Chase the Ace.

However, the Melfort Fire Department doesn’t want the public’s interests of what they do to only be answered during special occasions.

“We’re always available to do tours of the hall if there are interested parties within, whether they’re an organization or family and friends,” Everitt said. “Community connection is essential for us and it’s an important part of who we are and what we do.”

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow