PROPERTY DIRECTOR SPENDS DAY AS A FIREFIGHTER

The Director of a Sheffield-based estate agents swapped his suit for a fire kit last week, when he spent the day learning how to be firefighter.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue knows the importance of building links with local businesses, so when Director of Saxton Mee, Simon Lee, recently expressed an interest in the profession, he was swiftly invited to spend a day with a fire crew.

Simon, accompanied by his wife and baby daughter, visited Elm Lane Fire Station and was given the opportunity to use hose reels, breathing apparatus and cutting equipment.  He also discussed how his company could work with the Service to increase public awareness about fire safety.

Simon said that he was thrilled to be invited to the station for the day:  “As a child I always used to dress up as a firefighter.  So it was a shock to be invited to be one for the day - I thought it was a wind up!

“I was also surprised to hear about all the other things that firefighters do, like fitting smoke alarms and working with youngsters to reduce arson and car crashes.  We have a lot of customers who would benefit from the offer of a free fire safety check and I’ll try in any way I can to help get the message across.”

On the same day, MP David Blunkett also paid a visit to the fire station and discussed the benefits of partnership working with crews and attendees at the station.

Councillor Jane Bird, Vice Chair of the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority, said:  “This was an opportunity to demonstrate the diverse range of work our modern firefighters do, as well as talk about opportunities to work together on our prevention initiatives.  Local businesses can provide links to their own customers, so that even more people benefit from schemes such as fitting of smoke alarms, and they can also provide vital funding for our successful youth programmes.”