The fire service will be delivering falls, crime and healthy aging advice to older people in Doncaster, when a new programme of ‘safe and well’ visits is launched this month.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has visited tens of thousands of homes across the borough to fit smoke alarms and advise residents on preventing fires for more than a decade.

But now it has teamed up with partners including Doncaster Council, Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group and South Yorkshire Police to deliver enhanced ‘safe and well’ visits to extend the range of advice that’s given to the most vulnerable people.

The new visits will be targeted at people aged 65 or over and will include general health and wellbeing advice, falls risk assessments and crime prevention tips. People will then be referred to other agencies for specialist interventions and advice if needed.

Dozens of firefighters and community safety staff have been trained to deliver the new checks, achieving a qualification in health improvement from the Royal Society of Public Health.

Head of prevention and protection, Steve Helps, said: “Our established programme of home safety visits has contributed to a big drop in fires across South Yorkshire over the last decade. But we believe we can use the contact we have with some of the most vulnerable people in society to achieve far more than simply reducing fires.

“We know that there are huge links between the people who need the help of the health services, and those who are at risk of fire. So strengthening our knowledge and referral mechanisms through collaborative working such as this must surely benefit our public safety objectives, as well as those of partner agencies.”

Dr Rupert Suckling, Director Public Health, said: “Safe and Well checks could save lives and help stop people needing to go into hospital by providing health and wellbeing advice.

“Many fire hazards are similar to health issues, for example fall risks, and in some cases the problem can be seen and sorted out there and then. This is a great example of partners working together to help keep older people safe and well at home.”

Nationally, fire and rescue services, NHS England, Public Health England, the Local Government Association and other partners, including Age UK, have been working together to explore how they can encourage and deliver local action to reduce demand on health and social care systems and improve the quality of life of vulnerable people.

In South Yorkshire, the fire service already hosts a monthly memory café for people living with dementia and their carers at Adwick fire station.

More than 5,000 people have been offered sight loss assessments, after fire service staff were trained in delivering a simple, five minute sight screening tool as part of the ‘Optimeyes’ scheme set up with Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

Fire crews also attend hundreds of ‘medical break-ins’ every year, where they gain access to properties where people are thought to be in need of urgent medical attention, but where ambulance service paramedics cannot get to them.

Doncaster Belles took time out from their busy training schedule to back the fire service’s smoke alarm drive.

The footballers, who live in South Yorkshire, have signed-up to a brand new smoke alarm testing reminder service.

The free ‘Press the Button’ service gives residents weekly or monthly online reminders to test their smoke alarms, after fresh figures revealed thousands of people in South Yorkshire fail to regularly check their smoke alarms.

Firefighters have been to dozens of house fires in the last three years where the alarm battery was either missing or flat, putting the safety of the residents at risk.

Only smoke alarms fitted with working batteries give you the vital extra minutes needed to escape a fire in your home, so fire chiefs hope hundreds of people will sign-up to the new service.

Leandra Little, team captain of Doncaster Belles said: “Don’t under estimate the importance of a working smoke alarm, they really are life saving. It’s quick and easy to sign up at www.pressthebutton.co.uk – we’ve all done it.”

Head of Community safety, Trevor Bernard said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to see a local football team get behind such an important campaign. Only working smoke alarms save lives. We know how easy it is to forget to test your batteries, but by signing up to this free service we promise to give you a regular, gentle reminder which may one day save your life.”

Smoke alarms should be tested regularly, ideally once a week. To sign-up to the reminder service, visit www.pressthebutton.co.uk

Team Programme is a 12-week course that gives you practical skills, self-belief and help with getting a job.

The programme is jointly delivered by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and South Yorkshire Police.

To sign up, email princestrust@syfire.gov.uk

Firefighters from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue invited the youngster down to Cudworth station for a day to receive his ‘get well’ card signed by Manchester United players, Wayne Rooney, David De Gea and Ander Herrera.

Seven year old Brogan Goose was recently treated by Cudworth green watch for burns to his upper legs, after trying to put out a fire he had found in a field.

He was admitted to Barnsley Hospital, but has since been referred to Sheffield Children’s Burns unit where he may have to undergo a skin graft.

Brogan, his mum and his grandad were invited by Cudworth green watch to visit their station for the day. He spent the day observing various firefighter techniques, as well as taking a look around a fire engine and learning all about general fire safety.

Watch Manager of Cudworth green watch, Adam Bramhall said: “ An incident like this is a traumatic experience for anyone, never mind a youngster like Brogan. We are delighted that Man Utd were able to send a signed card, and it was great to see Brogan in good spirits down at the station despite his injuries. We wish Brogan a swift recovery and are confident that, after spending a day with us, he knows exactly who to call if there’s an emergency. We would also like to take this opportunity to remind the public that if they do come across a fire, get to a place of safety and ring 999”

A Sheffield woman has hailed the life changing impact of a fire service referral scheme which saw her given vital help with her eyesight after suffering a blaze in her home.

Dawn Caney, aged 60, from Sheffield was referred for specialist sight loss support from Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind after fire service staff noticed cataracts may have contributed to the incident.

She was referred for help thanks to ‘Optimeyes’- a new lottery funded partnership between South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR), Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and local charity Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind (SRSB).

The scheme has trained dozens of fire service staff in delivering a simple, five minute sight screening tool to assess sight problems. The assessment is built into the fire service’s established programme of home safety visits.

Nearly 5,000 people have now been offered the assessment by the fire service in South Yorkshire, with at least 40 people referred to SRSB for further interventions, including Dawn.

Dawn has now spoken to a hospital consultant about undergoing surgery on her cataracts, is visited by a physiotherapist to help her walking and referred to a care agency who help her with day-to-day tasks.

Dawn said: “I noticed that my eyes were getting bad about three years ago when things started to look blurred and I got a lot of headaches. I used to go out to the local shops every day but it got too difficult for me to manage the steps down from my first floor flat, I just couldn’t see the rubbish. I was frightened of slipping, so I stopped going out, except to the rubbish chute. I was also frightened because I didn’t know why I couldn’t see clearly anymore. I thought it was because I smoked and that was what was causing everything to be blurred. Now I know it’s also because I have got cataracts so that’s a bit of a relief in some ways.

“I had an incident at my flat and the fire service came out. They sent a home safety officer out to visit me after that to check that my flat was well protected with smoke alarms and that I knew how to avoid the risks of having another incident. The home safety officer noticed that I couldn’t see clearly and referred me to Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind who I had heard of, but didn’t know how to get in touch with. I also didn’t know that they helped people like me who weren’t totally blind.

“Since then my life has changed a lot, all for the better. A Community Advice Officer from SRSB came to my flat and has arranged appointments and support for me. I’ve been able to tell her all my problems and she always listens and asks me what I want and what I prefer. She gives me time to think about things first so I don’t feel pressured into making decisions. It feels like I have some say in my life again.

“My support worker is helping me to trust people again and I now get out of my flat at least once a week. I would say there have been lots of positive changes in my life since February thanks to being referred to SRSB by the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue.”

The fire service said the partnership is all part of its efforts to extend the benefits of the work it does with some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

SYFR Area Manager Steve Helps, said: “In the last decade, the fire service has helped to make South Yorkshire safer than it has been at any time in its history in terms of house fires and fire related deaths and injuries.

“But we believe we can play a much wider role in terms of tackling some of the big health challenges our country faces in the future. This scheme is the perfect illustration of that aspiration, where the fire service’s contact with some of the most vulnerable people in society is being used to do more than just prevent house fires.”

Firefighters have been visited by a group of young sea cadets eager to find out more about the role the fire service plays in keeping local people safe.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Central fire station hosted the visit of more than 20 members of Sheffield Sea Cadets.

The cadets learned more about the role of a firefighter, the equipment they use and also visited the service’s 999 control room.

Fire officers say visits like this are vital for teaching young people about the work of the fire service and ensuring safety messages are passed on to parents and peers.

Watch Manager Nicola Hobbs, said: “Young people can be vital ambassadors for our work, so it’s important that we find ways of giving them an insight into the role of the fire service from an early age. We also know that children are one of the best ways of ensuring safety messages, such as the importance of working smoke alarms, are passed on to parents.”

Sheffield Sea Cadets is part of a nationwide network of cadet units which has been giving young people training, skills and experiences on a naval theme since the first unit was established in 1854 in Kent.

One of the country’s top women’s football sides has spent the day with the fire service, in a bid to boost its chances during the climax to its debut super league season.

Women’s Super League side Doncaster Rovers Belles spent the day experiencing life as South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue firefighters at the service’s training base in Handsworth, Sheffield.

The squad’s day included donning breathing apparatus inside SYFR’s cutting edge realistic fire training building and performing firefighting drills.

The aim of the day was to boost the Belles teamwork skills, but also to highlight firefighting as a potential career path for women and other diverse groups.

Belles goalkeeper Nicola Hobbs combines her role with a full time job as a firefighter in South Yorkshire and is currently working in the service’s community safety team.

Nicola said: “The Belles are really grateful for the support of the fire service in putting on this day, which was a brilliant opportunity for us to develop our teamwork skills before the vital last few weeks of the season.

“But our players are also aware of their responsibility as role models to women in our local community, and that responsibility extends to making them more aware of career paths some may not have previously considered.

“Perceptions of the fire service as being a white, male dominated organisation are changing and here in South Yorkshire we have already come a very long way, with firefighters from underrepresented groups including many women on the front line at fire stations all over the county.

“Through training days such as this we hope to inspire more women to think about a career as a firefighter which they may never have considered before.”

A South Yorkshire-based homelessness charity has used fire service funding to support vulnerable homeless people whilst simultaneously providing fire safety advice.

Crisis Skylight South Yorkshire partnered with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR) to help 300 homeless people to better understand how to find and sustain a tenancy, improve their housing situation and provide safety advice to prevent fires.

The project aims to improve the tenancy skills of homeless people, many of whom have never lived in private rented accommodation before.

The charity works with the fire service to identify single homeless people who are considered very vulnerable due to their physical and mental health, their lack of tenancy skills and their inability to secure quality housing. Support workers then ensure the tenant receives all the support and guidance they need to find and sustain a tenancy, including arranging for safety checks to be carried out, fitting smoke alarms and helping them to source fire safe electrical goods.

The project was awarded £82,789 under South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority’s funding scheme, the Stronger Safer Communities Reserve (SSCR).

Station Manager Darren Perrot said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for SYFR to work with some of the most vulnerable people in South Yorkshire, and help those in need who we haven’t been able to reach previously. Crisis is a great charity which offers these people a chance at living a comfortable life, and if we can educate them in how to prevent fires at the same time then it benefits everyone. This is why the SSCR fund was set up and it’s brilliant to see the direct benefits within the local community.”