The flashing lights and occasional wail of sirens will be heard tonight in the Heartland community as the First Responders Parades continue.

The cavalcade will be travelling through Heartland from 5 to 7 p.m. to collect nonperishable food, unwrapped toys, and gift cards for the Cochrane Activettes' Share Your Christmas campaign. Cash donations won't be accepted.

It's the second year that firefighters, police, and personnel from EMS and victim services have teamed up for the parades.

Councillor Marni Fedeyko helped create and organize the event. She says they faced some challenges during the first parade through Sunset Ridge, but that it was a heart-warming night all the same.

"People come out and they're so kind to the first responders," says Fedeyko. "They're waving, smiling, and they're giving thumbs-up. There was a little girl on the route last night (Nov. 15) wearing a fire hat. It's really great."

She said some of the streets couldn't be accessed due to tight corners and construction. 

"I hope that people are patient with us. We have heard from a couple of people that we missed picking up their donations. Last night was incredibly hard. It was so foggy out. Our convoy of vehicles was out there for nearly two hours, but some of the turns were too tight."

Those who were missed can reach out to her at Marni.Fedeyko@cochrane.ca to arrange a pick-up.

She reminds people that the parades are subject to cancellation if first responders are called out to an emergency.

Heads up, Heritage Hills. They'll be coming your way on Fri. Nov. 19.

The full schedule can be found here.