INNISFAIL – Birthday children in town and Red Deer County can shed the COVID-19 birthday blues because local Superheroes will come to the rescue to save the day.
The town’s Protective Services department has teamed up with its counterparts in Red Deer County to give children a birthday they will always remember. They are offering the #StayHome Superheroes program, an idea created and launched in the region by the rural municipality.
The idea is to commend and recognize the birthday boy or girl for their “superhero” efforts to protect themselves and others during the COVID-19 pandemic by staying home.
Gary Leith, the chief of the Innisfail Fire Department, said there have been a number of public requests to his office since mass self-isolation began to provide memorable fun during the pandemic. He noted fire departments and other emergency responders from across the province and country have no doubt heard the same type of requests.
He said local firefighters began looking for a safe way to entertain children for their birthdays since opportunities for public outings and interactions have become almost non-existent since the implementation of government-ordered restrictions.
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The solution came from neighbouring Red Deer County where the stay-at-home Superheroes program was launched before the Easter long weekend.
“We were happy to engage and explore that because we had a number of requests,” said Leith. “We had 24 requests within the first 24 hours."
He said the department would gather up all the requests for a week and then allocate a time slot for one day to give each child a big thrill. The Superheroes visit may be on the actual day of the birthday but sometimes not. What’s most import though, is each birthday will be celebrated with Superheroes.
Leith said once the weekly requests have been gathered his department will then contact Innisfail RCMP and Red Deer County. The fire department will then contact those who requested the Superheroes and let them know what day and time they will do a drive-past for the birthday child.
“We basically do the drive-past with lights and sirens,” said Leith, adding firefighters and Sparky the fire dog are fully suited up. “Yes, we can stop. Sparky can get out. It just depends on how much time and bookings we have. This is obviously fairly new to us.
“We could have just one birthday that week or five or 10, and we only have a certain amount of time to allocate to it.”
In the meantime, Leith is grateful for the support the new COVID-19-era program has garnered from the Innisfail RCMP, and most importantly Red Deer County.
“They (Red Deer County) are supporting our program and we are supporting them,” said Leith. “We cover the area around Innisfail and if we can’t make it on a particular day because we are out on a call (Red Deer County) can come and support and make an attendance.”
He said the program, open to kids between one and 18 years of age, would continue for as long as the COVID-19 restrictions are in place.
To work out a visit from local first responders, citizens are asked to complete the registration form on Red Deer County’s website at the link below. Further program details are also available.
http://www.rdcounty.ca/FormCenter/Protective-Services-Forms-3/StayHome-Superheroes-63
Requests from residents of Innisfail are received by Red Deer County and forwarded to the town's Protective Services department for processing.
