Members of the Penticton Fire Department met up with brand new Penticton community members at the South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services Centre Friday morning for their first ever outreach program aimed at teaching immigrants about fire and safety services in town.
Jody Fotherby, the department's public educator, said the education session with roughly a dozen new residents from around the world was a wonderful opportunity.
"Language was a bit of a barrier, but it worked out just fine because they're learning English, and luckily we had people from the centre there who could speak to them and get their question across," Fotherby said. "For me personally it was a really great learning experience."
The goal was to make sure the newcomers to Canada saw the fire department as community helpers.
"We encouraged them to call the fire department if there's an emergency, we offered fire and life safety education such as home escape planning, some smoke alarm information, 9-1-1 emergencies," Fotherby explained.
She said the event was helpful both to the immigrants and the firefighters, who were eager to learn about the cultural differences the new arrivals were experiencing in Canada.
"One of the interesting issues was emergency 9-1-1, we had one student from China who was telling us it's 1-9-9 in China," Fotherby said with a laugh. "And it was interesting to learn that in some cultures, the fire departments are military members. Well we're not, we're municipal employees, and it was a real learning experience for us as well as the new people in our community."
Several young kids from the centre's daycare participated as well, who got a real kick out of the huge engine and fire equipment. One little boy got so attached, it was tough to say goodbye.
"He was so upset when the fire truck pulled away, he was sobbing, he just thought it was so great that he got to be near a fire truck and be in a fire truck," Fotherby said with a fond chuckle. "I just thought, 'This was supposed to be a fun experience!'"
They hope it will become a regular opportunity for the fire department and SOICS to get together with new community members.
"Just to let them know that 'Hey, we are community helpers, and we're all about community, and we're here for you." Fotherby said. "And that's kind of the message we want to get across."
- Chelsea Powrie, Castanet News
