A lucky Grade 1 student from Maple Leaf School in Morden got the honour of being the fire chief for a day last week.
Waylon Orvis not only got the perks of having the title but also was treated to having the fire truck come to his school June 8 to entertain his classmates and then give him a ride to the fire hall.
“It was cool,” said Orvis, who also had the perk of being treated by Boston Pizza, which annually gets involved in the initiative.
“It’s a great program. It’s really good. Our public education department here is doing a really good job,” said Chief Tim Reimer.
He credited Cpt. Jonathan Baumgart, who serves as public education officer, for really going above and beyond with this program.
“Jonathan here has got the kids doing a home fire escape plan that they did up as part of the contest, and then of the entries, we have a winner who gets to be fire chief for the day.
“It’s a good way to connect with the community, connect with the kids,” Reimer said. “The kids have a good time. We had two Kindergarten, two Gr. 1 classes out there participating, and we did a little demonstration.”
Baumgart was grateful for the support of Boston Pizza.
“Without their support and their sponsorship, this wouldn’t happen, and it also wouldn’t happen if we weren’t allowed to go to the schools,” he said. “So thank you to the Gr. 1 teachers who allow us to bring the program into the classroom and allow us to be there and share fire safety with their students. Without that, this wouldn’t happen.
“The teachers have been really good to let us in there,” Reimer agreed. “It gives us that opportunity to have more participation, more availability, and it’s great the way they keep supporting the program.”
