An initiative by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and South Yorkshire Police is helping to make potentially life-saving safety knowledge available to all diverse communities across the county.

Following on from the success of the first BME Crucial Crew event, a further series of five Crucial Crew events is targeting people from black and minority ethnic groups.

Each event will be run at the Lifewise Centre in Rotherham and will consist of five scenarios which are based on real life situations.  These include arson, a bedroom fire, an injured casualty, antisocial behaviour and street crime.

The aim is to give practical advice on everyday dangers and subsequently improve participants’ personal and fire safety awareness.

The initiative is run in partnership with local councils and has been targeted at black and minority ethnic communities through local community groups, which are encouraging people to attend.

Hussain Ibrahim, the Black & Minority Ethnic Advocate for South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue said:  “The participants will be made aware of how they could handle serious safety issues whilst in a fun environment.  I am sure they will find it a very worthwhile experience and will prepare them if they ever find themselves in a similar situation.”

South Yorkshire Police’s Head of specialist Community Engagement, Chief Inspector Andy Hodgkinson, said:  “The scheme once again shows the value of partnership working in drawing together skills and knowledge at the highly acclaimed Lifewise Centre in Rotherham.”

“The programme will consist of a series of events working with local community groups to highlight issues around personal safety and responsibility, crime reduction including street crime and antisocial behaviour, besides fire safety.”

“We hope the initiative will give local black and minority ethnic groups, especially those people who have recently arrived or settled in the county, an understanding of key issues that affect communities, as well as providing an opportunity for greater interaction.”

The events are part of a whole range of initiatives at the Lifewise Centre which are designed to help and protect our most at risk communities, such as the ‘Older Persons’ Crucial Crew events that have been run in the past, and every school in South Yorkshire is offered a visit to Crucial Crew every year.

If you require any further information please contact Corporate Communications on 0114 253 2351.

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Lifewise Centre

The Lifewise Centre has been constructed as a film set to the specifications of the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and South Yorkshire Police.  In partnership they with local organisations, have created an interactive area where groups of people, mainly children, can be taught how to keep themselves safe by taking part in scenarios which replicate day to day situations where they could be vulnerable.  Inside Lifewise there are ‘sets’ replicating, a pub, a house, a street, a park, railway lines, bus stop and much more.  Lifewise offers a virtual community and is one of the first such centres to be opened nationwide.