Two South Yorkshire firefighters are amongst a 20 strong team bidding to cycle the length of the UK to raise mental health awareness and thousands for charity.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Mark Peart and Paul Simmonite are joining firefighting colleagues from Suffolk for the 10 day, 1,000 mile ride from Lands End to John O’Groats in September.

The team are aiming to raise £50,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity, which supports the mental, physical and social needs of all serving and retired members of the UK’s fire family.

Paul has been a firefighter for 29 years and is currently based at Aston Park fire station. He said: “I’ve worked at stations across South Yorkshire and seen things that most people will thankfully never see, but due to the nature of the family feel of the fire and rescue service there has always been support available to me.

“I know The Fire Fighters Charity provides lots of mental health support though, so raising for them was something I really wanted to do.

“After meeting up and spending a day cycling with the group from Suffolk, I was honoured and privileged when they contacted me and asked me to join the team on this epic adventure. It’s been on my bucket list for years to ride the length of the UK, so I jumped at the chance.

“To be able to challenge myself with the mental and physical aspects of this adventure and knowing others will benefit from the team’s efforts is really inspiring.”

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Fire Officer Chris Kirby, said: “Mark and Paul have the support of the whole fire service behind them. Not only are they raising money for a charity which does so much for serving and retired fire service staff and their families, they are also raising much needed awareness of the mental health issues which many emergency service workers face.

“I’ll be joining the team for part of the ride- but the scale of the full challenge is absolutely enormous and I’d encourage people to dig deep and donate to help inspire them to complete this incredible feat.”

The team begin their mammoth ride on Monday 20 September, stopping at eight fire stations across the UK along the way.

To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/team/longestride

Firefighters across the Yorkshire and Humber region have revealed new, advanced fire kit following a joint procurement deal.

As part of a tri-service agreement, all firefighters in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the Humberside region will begin wearing new fire tunics and trousers. For crews in South Yorkshire and Humberside, the personal protective equipment (PPE) revamp will also feature a pioneering, multi-function rescue jacket to reflect the changing role of the modern firefighter.

The kit is currently being rolled out across the three counties to assist firefighters in best protecting local communities. It is a proud moment for all three fire services, who have collaborated in a two year project, resulting in the final contract being awarded to supplier Ballyclare International.

The new fire kit features specially designed knee and elbow panels to make it easier to move and more comfortable to wear as well as innovative new spacer fabric, to improve breathability for those wearing it.

The collaboration means all three services have saved money, enhanced firefighter safety and standardised fire kit regionally.

The PPE underwent rigorous testing back in June 2020, as part of extensive performance trials involving both male and female firefighters from all three services.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Tony Carlin said: “Our operational crews need first-class fire kit in order to respond to a wide range of incidents and protect the residents of South Yorkshire the best we can. Our new kit features the very latest technologies and safety features to ensure that our crews not only have the best protection on the fire ground but have full confidence in their equipment.

“We have a dedication to collaborating however we can with our neighbouring services and this is another clear example of a collaboration project that not only enhances the safety of our firefighters but ensures best value.”

Humberside Fire & Rescue Service Director of Service Delivery Support, Steve Topham said: “This has been a great opportunity to work with our colleagues from across Yorkshire as part of a regional procurement of new structural PPE from Ballyclare International. It has helped us all in making efficiencies and providing our staff with new PPE that improves their safety and comfort while attending incidents.

“Great care was taken to make sure the new PPE provided a better fit for all our staff and provides better breathability when working in hot environments. Our staff will be receiving their new PPE later in August and supports our ongoing aim to provide safer communities, safer firefighters.”

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service Area Manager, Dave Teggart said “We have worked closely with colleagues from across the Yorkshire and Humber region to purchase our new structural PPE from Ballyclare International.

“The regional procurement shows our commitment to making efficiencies, by reducing duplication and effort.

“The new PPE offers higher levels of protection and wearer comfort to our staff, making them safer than they ever have been.”

Deborah Hudson, Head Designer at Ballyclare said: “At Ballyclare, we recognise firefighters face an ever-expanding range of challenges and new hazards. With this project, we took an innovative design approach to increase protection levels.

“The three layer construction provides excellent protection against heat and flame, while delivering outstanding tensile strength. The lightweight combination provides barriers against heat and quickly moves moisture away from the wearer. This, coupled with the unique 3D structure increases the movement of air throughout the suit providing firefighters with maximum breathability and comfort. To significantly increase the visibility of firefighters in dark conditions we included the world’s first fire retardant and fully launderable phosphorescent tape in the design.

“Another key benefit of the suits are their rugged and reliable construction, allowing them to withstand a rigorous cleaning and maintenance regime without losing their protective qualities. Ballyclare is proud to provide this innovative fire kit to firefighters across Yorkshire and Humberside.”

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue service firefighters will now be wearing the new kit, with firefighters from West Yorkshire and Humberside donning the gear later in the summer.

Fire and rescues services in the UK are now being encouraged to do more collaboratively to drive down the amount spent on essential goods such as frontline equipment and workwear.

The Policing & Crime Act 2017 also received Royal Assent on 31 January 2017, placing a new statutory duty on emergency services to look at opportunities to work collaboratively.

The fire service has marked the lifting of coronavirus restrictions by attending its first public safety event in months.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue firefighters and safety officers were amongst those who attended a family fun day at Shirecliffe Heliport- with the event doubling up as a charity fundraiser.

A fire engine and chip pan display unit- which educates people about the dangers of pouring water onto hot oil – were also there, alongside vehicles and staff from other emergency services.

Community Safety Team Leader Amanda Thompson, said: “The fire service is best known for the work our brilliant frontline crews do responding to 999 calls. Equally important though is our work to educate the public- either by visiting their homes or at community events such as this one.

“We’ve had to adapt our community work significantly over the last 18 months or so and whilst we’re proud of the work we’ve continued to deliver throughout the pandemic, it still feels good to be back in the community and talking to people at events like this one about preventing fires and other emergencies.”

The well attended event in Parkwood Springs coincided with Eid and also helped to raise money for Cash For Kids, which supports children and young people affected by poverty, abuse, neglect, life-limiting illness and those who have additional needs.

A team at the heart of coordinating fire service volunteers who supported South Yorkshire’s pandemic response have been honoured with a special award.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s three-strong ‘volunteers cell’ oversaw the work of 200 fire service staff who volunteered to fulfil multiple requests for support from partner agencies as they strived to keep essential services running during the first stages of the pandemic.

Those tasks included making food and prescription deliveries, training to drive ambulances, fitting face masks for care staff and distributing PPE to health workers.

Now the team behind the work has been given the prestigious team award at the Cutlers’ Company Police and Fire Service annual awards in recognition of their exemplary service.

Chief Fire Officer Alex Johnson QFSM, said: “Many of the requests from partners, raised via South Yorkshire’s Local Resilience Forum, were extremely urgent, meaning that the cell had to work quickly, flexibly and often during unsociable hours to make sure the right volunteers were available to fulfil them.

“The cell also had to liaise with external partners across the country to establish safe systems of work, to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our volunteers whilst carrying out additional duties.

“All of the work of the volunteers cell was delivered remotely, with staff using video conferencing and email to deliver this work.

“In short, we are proud of the work we did to help our communities during the pandemic, but none of it could have been delivered without the work of the small, dedicated group of people who made up our volunteers cell.”

At the same event, Watch Manager Fleur Holland QFSM won the individual award after used her role within the service’s community safety team to help coordinate the delivery of hundreds of food parcels and thousands of prescriptions to people with no other means of support.

Acutely aware of the impact the pandemic was having on the mental health younger people, she also used her role as one of the service’s youth engagement leads to organise a fundraising challenge for the service’s fire cadets.

Emergency Planning Assistant Liz Bramley and Community Safety Co-ordinator Claire Walsh were the others nominated for the individual awards.

The service’s ICT team and Covid-19 volunteers were the others nominated for the team award.

Artificial intelligence is set to supercharge the way safety advice is delivered to the public, following the launch of a new service by fire officers in South Yorkshire.

Today, Wednesday 21 July, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has launched a brand new system that allows local residents to get a virtual fire safety check from the comfort of their own homes.

All people have to do is text a number from their mobile phones, or scan a QR code, and they will be asked a series of questions on things such as smoke alarms and electricals.

They will be walked through the whole process by an artificial intelligence system that will give immediate feedback and, if necessary, ask them to book an in-person safety visit.

As well as asking questions and giving feedback, the system will urge participants to check various appliances around the home and ensure they are safe with things such as ovens.

It’s thought that this virtual check is the first of its kind not only for the UK fire services, but for fire services right across the world, and fire officers believe it will help them on their mission to make South Yorkshire as safe from fire as possible.

“We are really excited about this new feature and know it’s going to make thousands of people safer in their homes – which is what our service is all about,” said Group Manager Matt Gillatt, deputy head of the joint police and fire community safety department.

“These virtual checks will allow people to assess their own fire risk and get potentially life-saving safety advice, all through a mobile phone, and in the comfort of their own homes.

“To be clear, we have no intention of using this new technology to replace or reduce our current in-person home safety check provision – this is vital work which we will carry on.

“The virtual check service is an extra string to our community safety bow which is ideal for households who are generally at low risk from fire, but would still like some reassurance.

“I’d encourage everyone to scan the code or text the number and answer the different questions you are sent – as well as giving immediate feedback the system will also tell you if we think you need an in-person check from our crews.”

It’s estimated the check will take people around five minutes to complete and advice will be offered on any areas where there are causes for concern.

Should the system feel the person is high risk and in need of an in-person visit, they will be invited to request one via the service’s website.

The virtual safety check has been developed in partnership with Hello Lamp Post, a company specialising in using artificial intelligence to support public sector organisations and the communities they serve.

“We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with a Fire and Rescue Service – and we’re delighted that South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue are the first to start this journey with us,” said Tiernan Mines, CEO & Co-Founder at Hello Lamp Post.

“It’s brilliant to see the service embracing innovative digital tools to support its community, and we look forward to helping them take their engagement and communication to the next level.”

You can access the service by messaging ‘HELLO FIRE SERVICE’ to 07862 126663.

You can find out more about Hello Lamp Post on their website, here. 

High-rise buildings on an inspection list are not inherently unsafe say fire officers, as they report good progress in their mission to visit every high rise residential block in South Yorkshire.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) has today published the list of high-rise residential buildings forming part of its ‘Building Risk Review’ project.

The list includes buildings identified by central government plus extra buildings identified by the SYFR- which made the decision to include all buildings of six storeys and over.

Buildings are on the list because of their height- not because they are automatically deemed unsafe.

The ambitious, government-funded project tasked fire and rescue services with returning information on all high rise residential buildings by the end of this year. A dedicated team of fire safety inspectors was set up to complete the work in South Yorkshire.

From an original list of around 300 buildings, there are now less than 70 left for them to inspect as part of this work.

Area Manager Simon Dunker, said: “It’s really important for residents to understand that this list does not mean that those buildings are inherently unsafe- just that we want to ensure we have accurate, up-to-date information on these buildings and are able to provide this information to government.  .

“Like all fire and rescue services, the government issued us with a list of high rise residential buildings for which they have requested further information on. Having cross referenced this list with our own local information, the list of buildings we are inspecting as part of this work has grown to beyond those which are simply over 18 metres high. This is because we want to be really clear about what is and isn’t in scope and be as thorough as we can possibly be.

“We have invested in a dedicated inspection team to complete this work and intend to complete it as quickly and as thoroughly as we can, to ensure the ongoing safety of residents in South Yorkshire. We are well on course to have completed this work before the end of December 2021.”

“We hope this work will provide reassurance to residents in the wake of the initial findings of the Grenfell inquiry and illustrates resident safety remains our priority. Where we identify an issue with a building, we will then work with building owners and managers to ensure any necessary work is carried out.”

Fire safety inspecting officers not directly involved in this project will continue to inspect other buildings across South Yorkshire regardless of height in accordance with their risk based audit programme.

More information about the Building Risk Review project can be found here

Firefighters in South Yorkshire have started carrying fire escape hoods to protect members of the public from toxic smoke at fires.

The smoke hoods provide members of the public with up to 15 minutes protection from four of the main fire gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride and acrolein) and can be worn by conscious or unconscious people. If more than 15 minutes protection is required then another hood can be given to each wearer.

They do not provide oxygen, but temporarily filter toxic smoke to make breathing easier. Firefighters will be able to offer people a hood to wear whilst they are being rescued and they will also be used to protect those who aren’t able to escape easily, such as the elderly or wheelchair users.

Head of Emergency Response Andy Strelczenie, said: “Smoke from fires is extremely toxic and just a few breaths can render you unconscious. These hoods filter out the most dangerous gases.

“These hoods will also provide firefighters with vital extra time to consider their priorities and plan the safest exit route, as opposed to simply getting people out as quickly as possible.

“Fire crews have been trained in their use and we think the money we’ve spent on them is a relatively small price to pay for something which has the potential to save someone’s life.”

More than 100 of the hoods have been bought, under a National Fire Chief’s Council procurement framework.

Smoke hoods are amongst the innovations fire and rescue services were recommended to adopt following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Firefighters from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) will be supporting Sheffield GP practices by delivering COVID-19 vaccines.

This comes just over a month after a number of fire service volunteers were trained up as vaccinators by St John Ambulance, and is part of a huge national effort from fire services across the country to help with the pandemic response.

The agreement – struck by Chief Fire Officer, Alex Johnson, and leaders at NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group – will see firefighters and fire service support staff giving vaccinations at practices across the city.

Fire and rescue staff have already delivered more than 250,000 vaccines nationally, but local bosses say they are keen to get this number even higher and help protect people across South Yorkshire from the virus.

“Our purpose is to make South Yorkshire safer and stronger, which is why since the start of the pandemic we have stood ready, willing and able to help in any way we can,” said the service’s Chief Fire Officer, Alex Johnson.

“So far we have delivered food and medicine to isolated people, distributed 1.3 million pieces of PPE to frontline health workers and worked with military planners to identify vaccination sites, but we want to do more.

“That’s why we have supported our staff to get vaccinator training, thanks to St John Ambulance, and why we have offered our help to the CCG in Sheffield.

“The vaccination programme is a huge national effort and, whilst I’m really proud that my staff have stood up and offered to contribute, I’m not at all surprised – as a service we exist to help people in need and that is exactly what we are doing here.”

Alun Windle, Chief Nurse and Covid Vaccination Lead at NHS Sheffield CCG, said: “We are really pleased to have South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service on board helping deliver the vaccination programme in Sheffield.

“Vaccines offer us the best chance of returning to normal and relaxing lockdown restrictions for good, it’s vital we keep on vaccinating people. The support from SYFR will help us reach the target to offer all adults their first vaccination by 31 July.”

The request for support from SYFR came from the CCG at a meeting of the South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum on Thursday 27 May.

The forum is made up of public agencies from right across South Yorkshire – including fire, police and health services – and members have met every week since the start of the pandemic to co-ordinate the local response.

People aged 30 and over are now being invited for vaccination, if you’re aged 30 and over have yet to have your vaccination you can book online at www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or by contacting 119. If you’re aged over 50, have a long term condition or are a health and social care worker you can also contact your GP to book.

The service’s core 999 response will not be affected by this work.