By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Promoting fire safety with Chief for a Day

Oct 11, 2018 | 11:43 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Riding the fire truck is what Siarah Gerard is looking forward to the most.

The grade two student at Westminster Elementary School has been chosen as Lethbridge’s Fire Chief for a Day, an annual part of Fire Prevention Week. Siarah’s picture was drawn from nearly 3,000 entries. At school Thursday, Oct. 11, she was presented with a firefighter uniform, certificate, and prize package.

She and her classmates were greeted by Fire Chief Richard Hildebrand and Sparky the Fire Dog, and were excited to see the fire truck parked outside.

Fire prevention officer Troy Hicks said fires can be scary situations for young children.

“The alarms, the loud ringing of smoke detectors and fire alarms can be scary to kids. We notice it every time we do fire drills,” he said. “So, we get out and we do presentations to the schools all the time, and I think it’s really good to get them excited, understand what the noises are, not to be afraid of firefighters. Lots of kids are scared when they see guys in uniform or when we’re wearing our bunker gear with our masks and stuff on.”

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Siarah’s duties as Fire Chief for a Day have only started. Hicks said she and her family will be picked up in a fire truck Saturday, taken on a tour of the city and then to a fire hall where she’ll meet the platoon chief before going for lunch.

“It’s the first time Siarah’s won something, which is great,” Hicks said. “She was a little shy here this morning, but she’s really excited. She’s looking forward to Saturday.”