St. Catharines Fire Services is bringing back its Hot Summer Nights program for a fifth summer, and it kicks off tonight at Catherine Street Park.
The program sends firefighters to a different city park each week from 6 until 8 p.m., where ladder trucks are turned into giant sprinklers to help families cool off during the summer heat.
According to St. Catharines Fire Services, the events also give residents a chance to tour the trucks and take part in hands-on fire prevention activities with the department's fire prevention team, which shares safety tips alongside the water fun.
The summer schedule
The first stop is Wednesday, July 8, at Catherine Street Park. From there, the program moves to Lakeside Park on July 14, Guy Road Park on July 22 and Lock 3 Museum Park on July 29.
The August dates are Walkinshaw Park on August 5 and Village Gate Park on August 12.
Cooling off and learning
The format pairs a warm-weather activity with the department's public education work. While children and families run through the spray from the ladder truck, members of the fire prevention team are on hand to talk about staying safe.
Now in its fifth year, Hot Summer Nights has become a recurring fixture of summer programming in St. Catharines, travelling to neighbourhood parks across the city over six weekly stops in July and August.
All events run from 6 to 8 p.m., and the program is free for residents to attend.
