Firefighters say a push to reduce garden fires during the national lockdown has been a huge success, despite the period being the driest in recent history.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue saw a ‘huge’ spike in garden-related fires towards the end of March this year, with people opting to burn waste in the absence of waste recycling centres.

This prompted the service to launch its ‘Take The Pledge’ garden fire initiative – during which officers urged people not to have bonfires during the on-going pandemic.

The result, statistics show, was a reduction in incidents during the campaign period – April and May – in comparison to previous, similar years.

“Incident figures generally speak for themselves but these don’t tell the whole story,” said Area Manager Simon Dunker, head of the joint police and fire community safety team.

“Rainfall data suggests that this year’s April and May were the driest they have been in the last five years, at least. This, as well as the fact that waste recycling centres were closed and the whole country was in a national lockdown, makes a reduction quite remarkable.

“On behalf of the service I’d like to say a huge thank you to the public for taking on board our messaging – supporting us and their neighbours. I’d also like to say a big thank you to our staff who consistently go above and beyond to make South Yorkshire safer.”

As well as a spike in incidents, officers say their campaign was also driven by a flurry of complaints from residents who were struggling to get out in their gardens due to bonfires.

The service attended 533 garden related incidents during April and May this year. This is five percent less than the 563 attended during the same period in 2017 and two percent less than in 2019 – with both of these years experiencing similarly dry springs.

Over a thousand people pledged not to have bonfires during the pandemic and many more got in touch with the service to offer support and ask for advice around controlled burns.

You can still take the pledge not to have a garden fire this summer here.

The family of an ‘amazing lad’ who died after jumping in a lake is calling for people to stay out of open water this summer.

Taylor Matthews, known as Tay, tragically passed away after jumping into the water at Skelbrooke Quarry, from a bank around 30ft high, in July 2018.

The inquest into his death ruled that Tay died from immersion, with his body instantly shutting down due to the cold water.

And now, as part of South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s new Dying For A Dip campaign, his aunt, Toni Matthews, is pleading with people to not follow in Tay’s footsteps.

“Taylor was a strong swimmer but when he entered the cold water, and his body shut down, there was absolutely nothing he could do,” she said.

“People really don’t have any idea how dangerous open water can be. We don’t want any family to have to go through the pain we’ve suffered.

“To anyone even considering going for a dip in open water, planned or not, please don’t do it. And if you’ve got kids, make sure they know how dangerous it is.”

The collective message and campaign launch – which is also backed by agencies such as Yorkshire Water and FCC Environment, the company that looks after Skelbrooke Quarry – comes after the Royal Life Saving Society’s Drowning Prevention Week (12 to 19 June).

Station Manager Tom Hirst, one of South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s water safety leads, said: “What happened to Taylor was an absolute tragedy. It’s one of several similar incidents in Yorkshire over the last few years and each one is equally as heart breaking for their families.

“We want people to enjoy the warmer months and our amazing countryside, but we don’t want you entering bodies of open water, such as quarries, lakes and reservoirs, due to the hazards they present.

“Even when the sun is out the water can be so cold. You have no idea what lies underneath and hidden currents can overcome even the strongest of swimmers.

“Our advice is simple – unless you are part of an organised, supervised swimming group then please stay well clear of open water, as we don’t want any more families to have to go through the heart ache of a water related fatality like this one.

“It’s also worth pointing out that around half of the people who get in bother don’t intend to enter the water at all. So, if you are near rivers or lakes, please be extra careful & don’t get too close.”

Amazing staff at the heart of championing the role of women in the fire service have been recognised as part of a major national awards scheme.

Winners of the fire sector’s ‘Women In The Fire Service’ awards include both men and women who have developed, encouraged and reinforced the role of women in the sector.

Women continue to be underrepresented in the UK fire and rescue service, with only six per cent of operational firefighters being female.

Amongst the winners at this year’s awards, which were organised by Women In The Fire Service UK, is Tim Pope from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue.

The Organisation Development Advisor beat off competition from nine other nominees to secure the ‘Men As Allies’ award at the Women In The Fire Service annual awards.

The award recognises men working in the fire and rescue service who work to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the UK fire sector.

As part of his role, Tim has led the service’s positive action work to inspire a more diverse range of local people to consider a role in the fire and rescue service.

Jules Kind, WFS Chair & Awards Panel judge said “ Tim is living proof that it doesn’t matter how senior you are or what role you do to be able to pack a punch and make a real difference. Being a male ally in male dominated culture can be tricky, but is such an important part of changing culture, tackling inclusion and takes the spotlight away from those who are new and/or different who are still finding their voice.”

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Rebecca Savin and Fleur Holland were also shortlisted for awards, in the ‘rising star’ and ‘shining light’ categories respectively.

Established as a self-help group, WFS UK is a volunteer-led, non-profit organisation managed by a board and an elected national committee of women fire professionals. It specialises in delivering training and development events aimed at women. These events are opportunities to network, learn new skills, and mix with peers from all areas across the service.

WFS provides information and advice to women who are contemplating a career in the fire service, speaks in schools and careers fairs and at fire and rescue service equality, diversity and inclusion events.

We are continuing to carry out high risk home safety visits only, in order to protect our staff and the public we serve.

This is due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic that has also forced us to suspend all school visits, cancel station-based events and close the Lifewise Centre in Rotherham.

We are still encouraging people to make safe & well referrals and request home safety checks – there will just be a delay in us carrying these out unless they are deemed as immediately high risk.

The term ‘risk’ means different things to different agencies but partners should be assured that we will get round to handling each referral as soon as possible.

Anyone deemed as being extremely vulnerable to fire will receive a visit from one of our Fire Community Support Officers.

The amount of house fires in South Yorkshire is the lowest it has been for 10 years, the county’s fire service has revealed.

Figures published by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue today, Wednesday 10 June, show that firefighters attended 472 accidental dwelling fires during the last financial year – 2019/20.

That is a 13 percent reduction on the previous year – 2018/19 – during which there was 542 such incidents, and is a 29 percent reduction on the 664 attended in 2010/11.

Importantly, the fire service says, it is the first time since records began that the amount of yearly accidental house fires has been in the 400s.

“It goes without saying that this is excellent news and testament to the hard work of our staff over the last decade – during what has been a challenging time for the public sector,” said Area Manager Simon Dunker, head of the joint police and fire community safety team.

“Every home safety check, every school visit and every safety campaign has contributed towards this reduction and we must also note the co-operation of each and every member of the public who has taken on board our safety advice.

“There’s still more to be done, though. The 472 accidental house fires we had last year were 472 too many and our work to make South Yorkshire safer and stronger will carry on into the next decade, and beyond, to try and reduce these incident numbers further.”

The service has also unveiled the number of home safety visits its staff have done in the last few years, with 68,000 being logged since the start of 2016, four years ago.

Fire services are required, by the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, to promote fire safety and proactively help reduce the risk their communities face.

This means undertaking things such as home safety visits and safe & well checks, visiting schools and developing partnerships with other agencies that help benefit the public.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue also prides itself on being one of the country’s leading fire and rescue services when it comes to delivering community safety campaigns.

Its recent Protect Your Pets campaign helped reduce electrical fires by 30 percent – whilst the Do Your Bit campaign drove down deliberate fires set during the summer months.