Want to be served some free flapjacks by your local firefighters? On Sept. 6 you certainly can, during the Cochrane fire station open house and pancake breakfast.
The second annual event will be held at the Protective Services Centre starting at 8 a.m. The local firemen will be joined by Mayor Ivan Brooker and other council members, who will also be serving up some pancakes.
Captain Jory Jenson runs the community foundation for Cochrane Fire Services and said the event is important because it creates a sense of community.
“The community supports us and we like to think that we support back,” said Jenson. “Come find out who we are, what we’re about and what we do.”
Jenson said people would be able to check out the hall and the trucks and there would be firefighters in their gear for people to check out.
Last year was a huge success, Jenson said, with around 800 people attending, adding that they had to go purchase more food halfway through the event because of the large turnout.
He said they are hoping for the same type of success this year.
Jenson said they came up with the idea last year when they were trying to think of a way to open up the firehall to the public. He said nobody really gets to come in and see the fire trucks and the firehall – things that are really interesting to the public.
“We have an excellent group of firefighters in town and a lot of us have been here many years,” said Jenson. “It is an opportunity for the community to meet their firefighters. The majority of us live in and are very connected to the community.”
Jenson said local firefighters usually tend to meet people on their worst day, where there has been some sort of traumatic event. He said they unfortunately don’t often have time to sit and have a visit with people in the community when they are on the job.
This open house provides that opportunity.
“It is kind of nice to come and meet us when there is no traumatic event. There is no large fire. There is no medical emergency. It is simply to come and visit and get to know us,” Jenson said.
The event is free, but Jenson said people are welcome to make donations to the community foundation, which would then be donated to the Rock the Waves campaign, helping to fund Cochrane’s newly-approved aquatic centre.
