Two-year-old William O’Donnell couldn’t get enough of Chewie, a trauma support K9 who was attending the annual Sirens in the Park even in Callander.
Chewie sat patiently as O’Donnell and others petted and hugged him while Gillian MacIntosh, K-9 handler for Victims Services of Nipissing District explained Chewie’s role in comforting others.
“Chewie works at the North Bay police station with victims of crime and tragedy. If anybody is ever in need of comfort or assistance, Chewie is available to comfort them,” said MacIntosh.
“Chewie works a lot with children. We also work at the courthouse and we also do respite visits. So, we visit all the local emergency first responders, we visit the paramedics once a week, and the fire department. We also do dispatch, so North Bay police dispatch, OPP dispatch.”
Chewie also visits community agencies including the Nipissing Transition House, the Ojibway Women’s Lodge, and Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Centre of Nipissing.
William’s mom, Kassandra O’Donnell appreciates that Sirens in the Park provides a learning opportunity in a fun environment.
“The kids are learning about the fire trucks, the ambulances, police, and all the other organizations in the community that are here to help. My kids have been talking about it since we found out it was going to be here today,” said O’Donnell.
“I think it is always good to learn about safety in a safe, fun environment before an emergency happens. My girls have had some experiences in life where they had to utilize the services of both fire and paramedics. So, this is a good way to give information to the community.”
Meagan Jobin and her family live in Earlton but were visiting friends in the area when they decided to take the youngsters to the event.
“The kids love the inflatables. It is about getting out and meeting people and seeing all the different emergency services that are available to them,” said Jobin.
“It is important to build that comfort for the kids so that they know where to go if an emergency happens, and that they’re comfortable being able to reach out to somebody in a uniform.”
This is the fifth annual Sirens in the Park event which gives the public exposure to emergency response equipment and the men and women who are trained to respond to emergency situations.
Callander Fire and Emergency Services Chief Todd Daley says the number of static displays and professionals on hand to explain the work they do, grows each year.
“This is a collection of emergency service apparatus. This is the stuff the response people use whether it is police, fire, paramedics, as well as MNRF forest firefighters, Corrections I.C.I.T. teams, the Red Cross and BAYSAR which is a volunteer search and rescue organization which works in conjunction with the police,” explained Daley.
“Most people don’t get to see this equipment unless it is a bad day. Today on a good day, the public gets to go inside a lot of this equipment, push buttons, and ask questions to members of the emergency service community about what they do.”
Daley says it gets people thinking about the work being done in the community.
“They get exposure to things and maybe it tweaks something like maybe they want to volunteer for something in the community. Or maybe they want to pursue a career and they want to know how to do that,” said Daley.
“So, it is public education, it is a chance to talk to emergency service personnel. It is a chance to see the tools that we use and get up close and personal with it.“
Daley says it is also about showing youngsters the career options that are available to them.
“It is about trying to get that message out that it is not about what gender you are, it is about whether you are willing to do the work and put yourself in a position to get hired for one of these positions. So, it is getting it into their heads that yes, they can do this.”
Sirens in the Park also provided safety tips to help keep people safe.
