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By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

incident offers new safety lessons

Red Deer’s Safety City vandalized to the tune of several thousand dollars

Jul 8, 2025 | 1:16 PM

RCMP are investigating after vandals did quite the number on learning facilities at Red Deer non-profit Safety City.

The vandalism is believed to have occurred sometime in the night on July 1, or possibly early July 2.

Damage is estimated to be worth several thousands of dollars, and has caused Safety City staff to have to pivot around their summer camps, which are their biggest annual revenue generator

The camps, which are still happening, teach children about road safety, fire safety, and many other things.

Board President Kristina Sveinson says that while the acts of whomever did this are disheartening, have caused headaches, and are senseless, they’ve somehow found a way of turning it all into a positive.

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“The kids at our camps have seen the damage, and they want to know what happened. So just like how we added a hand-washing lesson during COVID, the instructors are talking to them now about personal safety,” Sveinson says.

“It’s a great opportunity to show kids what to do when you find broken glass, or when your family comes home from vacation and there’s been damage done to your house.”

Major damage was primarily done to a structure which is used to teach various aspects of fire safety, such as using appliances in the kitchen, and how to safely climb out the window. A smoke machine is also now completely unusable.

“Our program on pedestrian and traffic safety where the kids drive around, we couldn’t have them doing that in the middle of a bunch of glass, so those windows have had to be boarded up,” she adds.

“Then there’s the community safety concern; are we going to be hit again, is there a concern for parents sending their children to camp? It’s the cleanup that’s had to be turned around so quickly because camps started this Monday.”

Window damage is extensive, and she says insurance is involved on the overall damage, but there’s been no final determination given just yet.

Sveinson assures parents that if they are sending their kid to a summer camp there, supervision will be high, and everything will be safe.

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In the meantime, board members have stepped up to do the cleaning, including Scott Medori and Patrick Blair, as well as Bob Kennedy with Kiwanis Club of Red Deer.

Many others have reached out with donations.

If you’d like to support Safety City through this ordeal, or on an ongoing basis, you can do so at CanadaHelps.org.

If anyone has information or surveillance footage of the area around the time of the incident, contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1‐800‐222‐8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.