New pet oxygen masks will be deployed on Airdrie firetrucks by the end of the month. (PHOTO: Ty Tomasta)

The Airdrie Fire Department had hundreds of visitors to their Chinook Winds Facility on Saturday, Fire Safety Day wrapped up Fire Prevention Week for the department, marking their sixth successful year hosting the event.

Visitors were given opportunities to tour the trucks and hall and were also given a chance to try on real firefighting equipment. In addition, Juno nominee Mary Lambert provided entertainment alongside various other demonstrations sharing the danger of fire. The Department also took the opportunity to unveil new equipment that would soon be making its way onto the Airdrie trucks.

Deputy Fire Cheif Lynda Mason says that it's just a matter of training.

"We're just rolling that our right now. it's our pet oxygen. We're gonna put the equipment on the truck as soon as all of our firefighters are trained. We understand that to a lot of people, their pets are more than pets to them, their family members. So when we get on scene we like to be able to do as much as we can for them. This new equoment actually allows us to actually give oxygen to dogs and cats."

Mason also explained that when it comes to fire, prevention is key.

"We're trying our very best to help people to stay safe so they dont need us to come in response mode in a critical moment. We really do focus on prevention"

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