People not only got up close with the firefighters and their equipment, but were given first-hand demonstrations of firefighting techniques.

“The weather was brilliant and it was a great day all round,” Rutherford fire captain Cameron Powell said.

“We showed them how we extinguish a fire, there was a search and rescue demonstration and we had a hazardous material demonstration too, with full protective equipment to mop up a chemical spill, and then finishing with  a decontamination shower.

“Then of course there was the barbecue which is always popular.”

So what’s the importance of the day?

“The basic safety messages,” he said. “Even if it’s just the sayings we use like ‘keep looking while cooking’ or ‘get down low then go, go go’ if there’s smoke in the house.

“Change your smoke alarm batteries each year. It all makes a difference.”