More than 5,000 people joined Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) for its first Spooky Spectacular event at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham.

The safety-focused event, which was Halloween themed, was held on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 October, and supported by other emergency services including Kent Police, South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) and HM Coastguard.

The ‘free to attend’ event offered interactive education, exciting demonstrations, and valuable community connections to residents across Kent and Medway. It included a large range of family-friendly activities aimed at equipping children and adults with practical fire safety knowledge ahead of Bonfire Night next week.

The spooky themed event is just another of the fire service’s events held outside of fire stations to increase accessibility to its services, to raise awareness of safety, and to increase visibility in the community. It follows a series of days held in public spaces across the county this summer, including in Ashford, Minnis Bay and Shepherdswell.

KFRS’ Customer Engagement and Safety Director, Jon Quinn, said: “Autumn is a critical time for fire and safety education, and we’re thrilled to have had such an incredible turnout at our first Spooky Spectacular.

“It provided a great opportunity for families to learn together about how to stay safe, especially as we head into the colder months.”

In addition to safety demonstrations, there was also interactive workshops, games, and activities, which made learning about safety both fun and memorable.

A quiet hour was held before the official opening times, for children with additional needs, where there were no lights, no loud noises and less people at the event.  

Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many families commenting on the importance of the event’s hands-on approach to safety education.

Vickie Mayhew went along with her family on Wednesday: “We had a lovely time, thank you 
to all the staff for their hard work, dedication and for being such friendly welcoming faces, much appreciated.”

Anna Callan took her son: “We had a great time, very impressed. Thanks to everyone involved – it was really well organised.”

While Stacy Souten commented on how inclusive the event was: “My little girl had a great time. Thank you for doing the quiet hour and giving her the chance to take part.”

Kent Fire and Rescue Service thanks all event partners, including Kent Police, South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), HM Coastguard, South East 4x4, Kent Search and Rescue, Medway Council and KCC Road Safety Team and our dedicated volunteers and cadets who made Spooky Spectacular a success.

A team from Medway food bank also attended and were able to raise funds through donations to help towards supporting families across the Medway area.