South Yorkshire safety teams have joined forces, in an ambitious fire and police collaboration project.

The joint community safety department brings together staff from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and South Yorkshire Police to work together with the shared aim of keeping people safe.

The leadership within each service believe the joint department will make both organisations’ work to prevent emergencies and reduce demand more efficient and effective.

High profile activities the teams currently undertake include home safety checks, crime prevention visits and youth engagement activities such as the award-winning Princes Trust Team Programme, which has helped to transform the lives of more than 200 young people in two years.

The teams also operate the Lifewise Centre which is an interactive safety centre in Hellaby, Rotherham. It opened in 2011 to deliver education packages to more than 20,000 local people every year, including nearly every Year 6 pupil in South Yorkshire.

Area Manager Steve Helps, who was jointly appointed by both organisations to lead the team, said: “Police and fire have worked closely to make people safer for many years. But we truly believe that by bringing together the skills, experience and specialisms of both teams, we can do even more to reduce demand and better protect the communities we serve. Vulnerability in our communities is going up at a time when our resources are not, so we need to become even more targeted in what we do and the people we engage with. This project is about meeting that aspiration and providing early intervention to better meet our future demands.”

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said: “I’m pleased that South Yorkshire’s police and fire and rescue service are collaborating to form a joint community safety department and look forward to hearing more about the benefits this brings to local communities. The Government introduced a number of measures to facilitate greater collaboration between our emergency services, which presents a real opportunity to provide a more efficient and effective service to the public.”

The Policing & Crime Act 2017 placed a new statutory duty on all three emergency services to look at opportunities to work with one another better to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police Stephen Watson, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive Jamie Courtney, Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings and Chair of South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor Chris Lamb signed a collaboration agreement earlier this year to outline the terms and vision of the work between the organisations.

Other big collaboration developments have included the development of a joint police and fire station in Maltby and the appointment of a Head of Joint Vehicle Fleet Management and Head of Joint Estates and Facilities Management.

A much-loved Sheffield volunteer is helping the fire service to give safety advice to deaf and hard of hearing people, by sharing his sign language skills with crews.

Phil Bowers, aged 49, has volunteered for two days a week as a South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue fire support volunteer for more than five years, helping to carry out home safety visits and fitting smoke alarms.

But he is also a trained British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, meaning he has been able to share basic signing skills with community safety staff and firefighters, including a watch at Parkway fire station and managers across the service.

Phil said; “Apart from teaching the crews at Parkway fire station I have also been teaching group managers and had invitations to teach at different fire stations in South Yorkshire. Having sign language skills feels like a great blessing to myself and I feel really lucky that it is not just in my head, but it is locked into my heart. I feel so blessed that I can share it with my fire service family.

“It is so nice that South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue want to learn about the deaf and hard of hearing community, which I have always felt sometimes doesn’t get noticed.

“It has been a pleasure for the last five years to be welcomed to the fire service family, to learn so many different skills and how to be professional in many different situations. It’s just been unbelievable and it has been the loveliest roller coaster of my life.

Area Manager Steve Helps, said: “Our brilliant volunteers contribute so much to the work we are doing to make people safer. We have dozens of volunteers, bringing a huge range of different and diverse qualities, skills and experiences. It can sometimes be harder for firefighters and other staff members to communicate with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, so Phil sharing some basic sign-language skills in this way will be of huge benefit.”

To find out more about volunteering with the fire service, visit https://www.syfire.gov.uk/find-a-job/volunteering/

A volunteer at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has been thanked for her actions after helping an elderly couple when their car broke down on a busy main road in blistering heat.

Andy Swarek, who has been volunteering within the service for six months, was on her way home from an event in Conisbrough when she came across the elderly couple who appeared to be stranded at the side of the road.

Mavis and George White, both in their late 70’s, had broken down on a busy road in Doncaster and had been told there was a four hour wait for a recovery vehicle. Despite the soaring temperatures, Mavis and George stood for 90 minutes with jump leads at the ready in the hope that a bystander would come to their aid.

After having been passed by hundreds of motorists, it was Andy that eventually pulled over to help jump start the couple’s car.

Mavis and George said: “As we weren’t registered with a breakdown company we weren’t a priority and feared we’d be sat there for the full four hours we’d been quoted. Andy stopped, was extremely polite and even offered us some water. She was kind and patient and was sympathetic to our situation even though she probably just wanted to get home. Andy went above and beyond and is a credit to the fire service as a volunteer.”

Andy said: “I’d been sat in tailback traffic for about 15 minutes when I saw George stood by his car with one of the jump leads in his hand and the other connected to his car. Whilst other motorists seemed to be simply driving by, I pulled over to help. As soon as I stopped they both seemed to be very relieved to see me.”

Mavis and George’s daughter, Rebecca White, contacted the fire service to pass on her thanks to Andy. She said: “It might just be a jump start and a drink to some people but to my parents in their late 70’s this meant the world. Andy is a huge credit to South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and our faith in humanity has been restored because of her actions.”

Andy is a volunteer cadet instructor within the service. Her role involves working with 13-18 year olds, teaching them about the importance of fire safety including various firefighting skills and techniques.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a volunteer at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, visit our website https://www.syfire.gov.uk/find-a-job/volunteering/ or get in touch with us on volunteers@syfire.gov.uk

A number of fire stations across South Yorkshire will be holding a family fun day during the summer.  The full list of stations are below:

Thorne station – Monday 20 August – 10am-3pm
Union Road, Thorne, Doncaster DN8 5EL

Lowedges station – Saturday 25 August – 10am-3:30pm
Lowedges Road, Sheffield S8 7JN

Rotherham station – Sunday 26 August – 10am-4pm
Fitzwilliam Road, Eastwood, Rotherham S65 1ST

Barnsley station – Saturday 8 September – 10am-2pm
Broadway, Barnsley S70 6RA

There will be a range of activities for all the family at each open day including:

• Fire engines to look round
• Demonstrations
• Fire cadets
  And much more

Play workers behind a much-loved community playground in Sheffield have hailed the impact fire service backing has had on their facility.

Pitsmoor Adventure Playground was built in the 1970s, but funding problems earlier this decade meant the site was open for just nine hours per week.

Now thanks to help from a range of partners, including cash from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority’s Stronger Safer Communities Reserve fund, the playground is helping to transform the lives of children in the area- with fire officers hoping it will help to reduce fires in the process.

The playground is accessed by children and young people from across Pitsmoor, Burngreave and the surrounding areas, including harder to reach children from Roma Slovak, Yemeni and Somali communities.

Evidence suggests it is making a big impact on young people’s life skills, behaviour and personal self-care, including dental hygiene.

Children visiting the playground are also encouraged by play team workers and volunteers to become active citizens, taking care of the playground and the surrounding communities. The fire funding, which had been set aside from the Authority’s reserves, helped to pay for fire safety through play sessions and additional learning sessions have been delivered on keeping safe on roads and around water.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Area Manager Steve Helps, said: “We know that we can’t hope to reach every member of our community on our own, which is why we need the help of charities and community organisations like this one. Our goal as a fire service is to make our communities safer and stronger and we believe our contribution towards this important and much-loved facility in the heart of one of Sheffield’s more deprived neighbourhoods is a good example of how we are working towards that mission.”

Fire Authority member Cllr Jackie Satur, said: “This is exactly the sort of project the Fire Authority has been proud to support- making a measurable difference to the lives of young people in a particularly deprived area, whilst at the same time helping to reduce fires through targeted education and advice.”         

Charity Manager Patrick Meleady, said, “We are delighted to have secured the support of South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and through our partnership arrangements have engaged with 100s of people, this project is making a considerable difference within our community having a direct impact on educating the children on the importance of keeping safe.”

For more information visit pitsmooradventure.org.

South Yorkshire fire cadets have been honored at a ceremony in Sheffield to mark their achievements.

More than 20 cadets, aged 13 to 17, were recognised in front of friends and family at the event at the fire service’s Handsworth training base, for successfully completing their Level 1 and Level 2 BTEC in Teamwork and Personal skills in a Uniform Organisation.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue runs seven cadet schemes- at Birley Moor, Cudworth, Edlington, Elm Lane, Dearne, Rotherham and Stocksbridge fire stations.

Cadets train at their respective stations once a week, learning firefighting skills and techniques from specially qualified instructors. They also play a key role at community events and take part in team-building days throughout the year.

Cadets enrol on to the CVQO education package, which covers the employability skills needed to work within the health and emergency services. The young people had 12months to work towards a recognised qualification, with certificates for successful completion of the programme handed out at last week’s event.

Station manager Matt Gillatt, said: “Our fire cadets scheme has a long and proud history. Over the years the scheme has evolved to provide a much more rounded mixture of skills and training, including community work and exercises to build personal confidence and employment skills.

“South Yorkshire has one of the most successful fire cadet schemes in the country, so it is right that we recognise the achievements of our youngsters in this way.”