ESTEVAN - Estevan Emergency Medical Services (EMS) continued its tradition of having a decorated ambulance during Halloween, and it was once again a big success.
This year the EMS went with a Lightning McQueen theme, paying homage to the popular character from the Cars movie franchise.
“The kids seemed to really enjoy it, as did the parents,” said Steven Raymond, a primary care paramedic with Estevan EMS.
They dressed up one of the ambulances, and the staff members purchased lots of candy. Then they drove around different areas of the city, handed out candy to the kids and had a good time in the process.
Raymond said Lightning McQueen was selected because he likes the Cars movies, and some of the EMS employees have kids who are big fans of the films.
“It’s just a very iconic character, and I thought the kids would really enjoy that one,” said Raymond.
Estevan EMS has four ambulances in its fleet, and the one they used for Lightning McQueen is the spare unit. It’s not used very often. The other three vehicles were still in service on Halloween.
As soon as the night was finished, the Lightning McQueen decorations were removed and the ambulance was back in service.
“It looked fantastic,” said Raymond. “We ended up giving out about 750 pieces of candy, so it was super popular and it turned out really well.”
When kids saw the ambulance approaching, they came running.
The Estevan EMS started the initiative a few years ago when Raymond and fellow EMS primary care paramedic Brad Robinson were in Radville to help out on Halloween. They purchased some candy, drove around and handed out the treats out to children.
“The kids don’t get to see the ambulance very often, and if they do, it’s usually not a good situation, so this is a positive interaction for kids with us,” said Raymond.
In previous years, Estevan EMS had a Ghostbusters theme and a Spooky Ambulance, among others.
Next year Raymond said they might try to decorate the ambulance to resemble the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo.
