An annual Nanaimo Fire Rescue open house takes place Tuesday, Oct. 21 at Fire Station # 1. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

come on down

‘It gets us into the community:’ Nanaimo Fire Rescue hosts open house

Oct 20, 2025 | 4:27 PM

NANAIMO — A behind-the-scenes look at the operations of Nanaimo Fire Rescue (NFR) takes place with the department’s annual open house.

On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the event happens at Fire Station # 1 at 666 Fitzwilliam St. between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Three new fire trucks will be on display, as will fire prevention-focused exhibits, and an interactive fire safety house, among other features.

Stuart Kenning, NFR deputy fire chief, said people will be able to connect directly with firefighters.

“It gets us into the community, meet the neighbourhood, and opens the doors and allows everyone to come inside and see what the firefighters do and our equipment that we use,” Kenning told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Best in Sport

Nanaimo celebrates Sport Achievement Awards and Hall of Fame inductions

1h ago

ROAD WORKS

Another multi-hour closure planned for Hwy. 4 at Cameron Lake

6h ago

Bruender Magic

Clippers top Chiefs in overtime thriller

8h ago

Described by the City of Nanaimo as a way to gain valuable safety knowledge in a fun and welcoming environment, the open house will see the fire hall’s bay doors opened.

“It’s not a full-service tour, but they’ll open up the bay doors and they can come inside the fire hall bays,” Kenning said.

October is Emergency Preparedness Month.

NFR’s Fire Station #1 opened in 2022, serving as the busiest flagship hall in the city.

The expanded, seismically sound hall also includes an emergency operations centre.

NFR crews respond to roughly 12,000 calls annually, involving medical aid calls, fires, motor vehicle crashes, and a range of rescues and hazardous material incidents.

Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook