Londoners young and old will be able to sit in a fire truck, watch firefighters in action, and delve into the history of the London Fire Department at a special 150th anniversary event planned for this weekend.

The department is hosting a community celebration at Earl Nichols Recreation Centre at 799 Homeview Rd. from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The free event is being held to mark the fire department’s 150th anniversary.

“Hours and hours of work have been put into planning this event,” said Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Gary Bridge. “We have demonstrations that will be taking place about every half an hour. We have food trucks, obstacle courses, bouncy castles, lots of stuff for the kids to play with and activities to enjoy –  so families could really spend the whole day.”

Specialized fire department teams that will be taking part in live demonstrations include the auto extrication team, technical rescue team, the water ice rescue team, and hazardous materials team. They will perform a vehicle extrication and high-angle technical rescue. The various teams’ equipment will also be on display.

Bridge anticipates there will be between 50 to 100 firefighters in attendance. As well, a number of retired members of the fire department have committed to helping out.

“The retirees are as much a part of this event as our active employees and we have a large number of retirees that are going to be volunteering their time to come out, talk about their time as a firefighter, and show the artifacts,” said Bridge. “Sometimes they are the best people to talk about these historical artifacts because they have first hand experience operating  these pieces of equipment.”

Museum London, Western Libraries, and the London Public Library have partnered up to curate an exhibit showcasing artifacts that date back to the department’s inception a century and a half ago. Several antique and modern firefighting vehicles will be on display, including the 1927 and 1957 models of the American LaFrance fire truck.

Kids will have a chance to meet Sparky the Fire Dog, the department’s furry mascot and see a life-sized LEGO firefighter sculpture. The London Fire Fighters Pipe Band will be performing live at the event and roughly half a dozen food trucks will be on site.

“If you know anything about a firefighter, they love their job, they love what they do, and they love to share what they do with the community,” said Bridge.” Firefighters want nothing more than to see kids’ faces light up when they have the opportunity to be in a truck, touch the equipment or even share the stories they participate in. It’s going to be a great community event.”