‘Give us a fighting chance’

Factor first responders into workplace safety, new ads urge

KRISTA SYLVESTER/Metro Calgary

Maryanne Pope hopes a new series of public service announcements will help remind people of the importance of workplace safety for everyone, including emergency responders.

Published: February 01, 2010 5:47 a.m.

Last modified: February 01, 2010 12:49 a.m.

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Despite reliving the horror of losing her police officer husband on the job in a preventable accident, a Calgary workplace safety crusader hopes new public service announcements help save future lives.

Maryanne Pope, widow of John Petropoulos and board chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund, kicked off the Put Yourself in Our Boots safety campaign yesterday in partnership with the city’s police, fire and EMS.

“Companies often think about workplace safety from the perspective of employees, but we want them to think also in the perspective of emergency responders who are not familiar with their workplace,” Pope said.

Pope lost her husband on Sept. 29, 2000, when he was responding to a late-night break-and-enter call and stepped through a false ceiling. He suffered severe brain damage. One of the three public service announcements on air beginning today re-enacts that exact situation in an effort to raise public awareness.

“It’s still emotional to watch it, even though I have seen it so many times. But I hope it saves someone else from feeling and going through what I have had to go through,” Pope said.

The ads show the police scenario as well as fire and EMS, and all are 30-second clips meant to spur viewers into thinking about workplace safety for everyone. The campaign also includes a 10-minute online video and a new website at www.ourboots.ca.

“I think the videos are jarring and they are jarring for a reason,” fire chief Bruce Burrell said. “We’re just asking for people to give us a fighting chance.”

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