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Canora Fire Department initiates fun community opportunity in midst of COVID-19

Members of Canora and District Fire Rescue are known for their abilities in fire fighting and rescuing people from serious accidents, but now they have come up with a way to put smiles on the faces of Canora and area residents during the COVID-19 pan

Members of Canora and District Fire Rescue are known for their abilities in fire fighting and rescuing people from serious accidents, but now they have come up with a way to put smiles on the faces of Canora and area residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since most residents are spending the majority of their time confined to their houses during the pandemic, Devon Sawka, fire chief, said he and the other firefighters wanted to do something special for those with upcoming birthdays.

“With everyone forced to spend so much time indoors these days, we just wanted to give them a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to,” said Sawka. “For anyone celebrating a birthday, please get in touch with us on Facebook beforehand with the details and we will arrange to come over on the big day in full fire fighting gear to deliver a special gift and brighten their day.”

The needed details include the date, address, preferred time, and age of the child, so they can bring an age-appropriate gift. The fire fighters will clean any gifts with a special cleaning agent.

“Our original plan was to do this for kids,” said Sawka. “But even though we just started doing its, we have already had requests to celebrate adult birthdays, which we are happy to do.”

In order for everyone to remain safe, high-fives through windows with visiting fire fighters are encouraged, but those who meet the visitors outside are reminded to practise safe social distancing.

Sawka said he was pleased to report that, even though the birthday offer was only in its first full week, they were already averaging almost one request per day as part of the effort to bring some much-needed joy to local residents during this challenging time.

“Be strong, don’t let this situation get to you. We’ll get through this fine if we all stick together,” concluded Sawka.