Haldimand County Fire Safety Trailer

“The E.M.E.R.S.O.N. Unit”

Since January 2007, Haldimand County has been the proud owner of a new state of the art fire safety trailer. Since that time, the new safety trailer has been at every local school, fair, festival and event in Haldimand County and the surrounding area. There was also a contest which spanned over 10 months. The “Name The Fire Safety Trailer” contest concluded with the winning name being announced “The E.M.E.R.S.O.N. Unit”.

The E.M.E.R.S.O.N. Unit, (Everyday Mobile Emergency Reminder for Safety in Our Neighbourhood), was named by Tracy Lumley who incorporated her late father’s middle name to honour her father’s memory, and his life’s work.

James Emerson Miller, of Jarvis, dedicated 41 years of his life putting out fires and teaching fire safety and prevention to anyone who would listen until he was silenced by cancer in 2005 at the age of 65.

Public education and prevention is the first line of defence and is the best way to reduce the incidence of fire. Specially designed in a layout of a home, the trailer provides an invaluable opportunity for fire service personnel to teach fire prevention and fire safety to all ages in a safe, non-toxic smoke filed environment. The interactive programs are geared for each grade level from kindergarten onwards. Lessons learned include life-saving techniques to use when caught in a fire situation such as crawling under smoke, learning to recognize at least two ways out of a room, the importance of arranging a family meeting place once you are safely out of the house, and the importance of having working smoke detectors in the home.

Since acquiring the trailer in January 2007, more than 6,000 children had already been through the trailer in the first year alone and thousands more have seen it at fairs, festivals and parades. As with most projects, fundraising is an ongoing priority of the fire prevention committee to ensure this trailer is maintained properly, and remains equipped with all the interactive media, handouts and promotional material needed to teach fire prevention and safety to all ages.

If you would like to advertise and become a sponsor of the “Emerson Unit” it would be a tremendous help in achieving the fire departments goals of eliminating all injuries and deaths due to fire.

We can be reached through our network of volunteer firefighters or the fire prevention committee at (905) 318-3272 extension 24. We would like to send a special thanks to all our sponsors to date for making this project the educational gem of Haldimand County