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7-year old Sofia Sanchez celebrates winning “Fire Chief for a Day” contest

Oct 13, 2017 | 12:36 PM

LETHBRIDGE – “It’s been the best day! I just had a really lucky day today,” says Sofia Sanchez, after she and her classmates got to explore one of Lethbridge Fire Department’s fire trucks Friday morning.
 
The St. Paul Elementary School Grade 3 student won a city-wide contest to become “Fire Chief for a Day,” and was surprised to see Deputy Fire Chief Greg Adair and mascot “Sparky” come to her classroom to deliver the good news.
 
Adair says it’s important to teach children about fire safety at an early age.
 
“This year’s theme is ‘two ways out.’ So what we want to talk to these children about is fire safety and their home escape plans, and ensuring they understand,and have two ways to get out of their house, should there be an event that they need to get out safely.”
 
When asked whether they had an escape plan, most of the students replied they did, and students like Sanchez also were able to recite other common fire safety tips.
 
“If you got fire in [on] your pants, you can roll over,” she explains. “And if you have extra clothing that you have, you can put it on your nose so you can breathe, and then you can try and escape and you meet your family outside.”
 
The “Fire Chief for a Day” contest is run in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week in Lethbridge and across the country.
 
Past winners of the contest have received a number of prizes including a uniform, personalized training and lunch at one of the stations.