Pokemon Go has gotten more young people outside in the last several weeks than any time in recent memory. But officials in Greater Sudbury want to remind hunters of rare Pokemon to be careful when around fire halls and other emergency services stations.
Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Jesse Oshell said Monday that crowds of people can assemble pretty quickly when a rare Pokemon is available.
"We know in the Pokemon world, fire stations and emergency services locations are Pokemon stops," Oshell said. "Those areas are active emergency services locations. We would just like to remind people to be very diligent and cautious around those areas."
While stories of people getting hurt or putting themselves at risk have been reported since the game caught on a few weeks ago, Oshell said there haven't been any problems in Sudbury at EMS stations.
"Absolutely not,” Oshell said. "But we've seen lately, obviously, as many have, that crowds tend to gather very quickly when these things do occur ... We're just trying to be proactive, trying to get the message out there. We want everyone to enjoy their game, but we don't want them to get hurt in any way, shape or form."
When responding to a call, fire and other vehicles have to exit their stations quickly, and people focused on finding Pokemon are at greater risk.
"There are emergency vehicles travelling to and from those stations on a regular basis, without advance warning,” Oshell said. “So we just want everyone to be very careful and very cautious when they are attending at a fire station in that particular scenario."
