In February, the Fire & Rescue Authority committed a further £2 million from its reserves to support community based projects to improve safety and wellbeing for local people.
Please note: Enquiries about this funding are not currently being taken, as the Authority is now establishing how this money will be allocated.
Further updates on this will be published on both the fire authority and this website in due course.
A partnership youth project is helping to turn around anti-social behaviour in the South East of Sheffield
The Dark Nights project works with partners including Salvation Army, South Yorkshire Police, Activity Sheffield and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue to deliver an eight week youth club project for young people in the area.
The scheme was awarded nearly £5900 under the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority’s funding scheme, Stronger Safer Communities Reserve.
The project runs from January to March, when the number of alternative, positive activities available to youngsters in the area is normally at its lowest. Young people meet once a week to take part in activities, including tours of the fire training and development centre, as well as educational sessions around first aid, road safety, fire investigation, social media awareness and the consequences of anti-social behaviour.
Andrew Watson at Salvation Army said; “We are thankful to South Yorkshire Fire Authority’s funding which has enabled the project to proceed. It continues to be popular with young people and provides a great approach to preventing future anti social behaviour as well as making young people more responsible for their safety and the community they live in.”
SYFR Station Manager Matt Gillatt said: “Engaging with young people in this way is one of the best ways of building lasting, positive relationships which have long term benefits for the communities we serve. It’s only by working together that public agencies can put together initiatives like this one and we are grateful to all the partners involved in helping us deliver these youth clubs.”
The Stronger Safer Communities Reserve saw dozens of registered charities, community organisations and partner agencies come forward and apply for grants from the £2 million fund, which had been set aside from the Authority’s reserves. Groups were able to bid for as little as £5,000 or as much as £150,000 to support projects which reduce injuries, save lives and make South Yorkshire safer.
Barnsley Hospital and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue have teamed up to provide information and advice to new parents and parents-to-be.
Barnsley Hospital’s Maternity Services Team have been working with Community Safety Officers from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to develop the Barnsley Babies Initiative. The initiative aims to raise awareness of how parents can ensure that babies are sleeping in a safe environment. The initiative was launched in line with the Lullaby Trust’s national Sleep Safe campaign.
The Sleep Safe campaign promotes the importance of safe sleeping for the whole family including advice and guidance on how to significantly lower the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). While SIDS is rare, there are essential things that parents can do, or avoid doing, to lower the chances of SIDS.
Barnsley Maternity Services team have undergone training with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to learn about fire safety and how parents can ensure that their child is kept safe whilst sleeping. The Barnsley Babies initiative promotes messages including; the importance of a smoke free home and car, the best sleeping position and environment for babies and temperature control.
During the week commencing 14th March Barnsley Hospital will be supporting the national Safer Sleep Week. Maternity staff will be available in the Women’s Services Foyer between 9-4pm in to offer advice and information to parents, visitors and members of staff.
From Monday 14 March Barnsley midwives will provide all pregnant women with a Sleepsafe bag which includes a room thermometer which has advice about safe temperatures printed on it, a scan frame to display prenatal scans and a document file for parents to keep important health information about their baby in. The bag also has essential information and maternity contact details printed on it.
Joanne Poskitt, Specialist Midwife at Barnsley Hospital said: “We have been working with the Fire Service for a while now and we are extremely proud of the Barnsley Babies initiative, we have had some fantastic feedback from our mums. We are excited to launch the Sleepsafe bags for new parents and initial feedback has been positive. We encourage anyone who has any questions or needs advice on safe sleeping to come along to the Women’s Services main entrance during the week commencing 14 March and speak to a maternity staff member.”
For more information about the national Sleep Safe campaign, please visit the Lullaby Trust website at www.lullabytrust.org.uk.
An inquest took place today (14 March) into the death of a man following a house fire in Doncaster.
Ian Jennings, aged 61, died following the blaze at the house in Pinfold Close, Tickill on 17 October last year.
The fire is thought to have been caused by smoking materials. Investigators found no evidence of working smoke alarms inside the property.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
Speaking after the inquest, fire investigation officer Graham Toms, said:
“This was a severe house fire which tragically resulted in Mr Jennings losing his life and our thoughts are with his family what remains a very sad time. The incident is also another, terrible reminder of the dangers associated with smoking in bed.
“We found no evidence of working smoke alarms in the property. Whilst we will never know whether smoke alarms would have made a difference at this incident, smoke alarms do you vital extra seconds to escape by giving you an early warning of a fire in your home. Please, please make sure you have smoke alarms on every level of your home and to test them regularly.”
Dozens of South Yorkshire fire cadets have been honoured at a ceremony in Sheffield to mark their achievements.
More than 70 cadets, aged 13 to 17, were recognised in front of friends and family at the event at the fire service’s Handsworth training base.
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue runs seven cadet schemes- at Birley Moor, Cudworth, Edlington, Elm Lane, Lowedges, 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 also enrol on to the Routes 4 U education package, which covers the employability skills needed to work within the health and emergency services. Young people work towards a recognised qualification at the end of a 12 month course, with certificates for successful completion of the programme handed out at last week’s event.
Station manager Spencer Rowland, said: “Our fire cadets scheme has a long and proud history. Whereas it once gave young people an insight into a career as a firefighter, it 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.”
A fire sprinkler system has saved an elderly resident in Sheffield following a fire at her home.
The recently installed system, at her house on Derby Street in Gleadless, activated after the owners mobility scooter caught fire and spread to the front of her home, allowing her to escape without serious injury.
The sprinkler extinguished the fire and limited the damage to the property. When fire crews arrived the fire was already under control, with the inside being relatively undamaged by fire.
The fire sprinkler system had been fitted as part of a ground breaking initiative by Sheffield City Council to improve fire safety to properties, supported by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR).
The installation of these types of systems is now mandatory in Wales and SYFR are actively promoting the use of this type of protection in all types of buildings to build resilience and safety into our community.
SYFRs Technical fire safety manager Amy Jenkinson, said: “The combination of working smoke alarms and a home sprinkler system reduces the risk of death from fire by more than 80%.
“As this incident proves automatic fire sprinklers are most effective during the initial stage of a fire occurring, as a properly installed sprinkler will detect the flames heat, initiate an alarm, and activate just moments after the flames appear.”
Councillor Jayne Dunn, cabinet member for housing at Sheffield City Council, said: “Fire safety is hugely important and we have invested heavily in this area. As well as sprinklers in some properties, we have been upgrading fire doors and installing safety measures such as smoke seals and heat detectors. All this is part of our £300million investment programme to upgrade our council homes.
“Incidents like this show just how important these fire safety measures are. I’m very pleased they made a difference and urge everyone to consider what fire safety they have in their own home.”
One of our firefighters will be running the marathon of a lifetime, as he hits the streets for charity in memory of his teenage son.
Nigel Clark, temporary Watch Manager at Cudworth fire station in Barnsley, will be running the 2016 London Marathon in memory of his son, Adam who died suddenly last year aged only 17.
This will be the first marathon he has ever ran, and will be donating all proceeds to the British Heart Foundation.
Adam was a healthy 16 year old who sadly suffered a Cardiac Arrest whilst at home in July 2014. His mum(Beth), sister(Rebecca) and Nigel gave CPR until the Paramedics arrived.
Adam sustained a hypoxic brain injury due to lack of oxygen. He never regained consciousness and sadly passed away in February 2015.
Nigel said: “The last 18 months have been a living nightmare for our whole family. Our son Adam was a lively and healthy 16 year old boy and we have been completely devastated by what has happened to him at such a young age. It has been just over a year since we lost him but the pain never really goes away. I hope to raise £2000 for the British Heart Foundation to go towards research to help others as that’s what Adam would have wanted.”
Please visit his Just Giving page here<https://www.justgiving.com/nigel-clark12/> to donate, ahead of the marathon on 24 April.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s Rotherham Fire Cadets have won the Young Leaders Annual Challenge for the second year running.
Police & Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings presented the award, as well as an additional £10 Amazon voucher for each cadet, kindly donated by the High Sheriff of South Yorkshire John Holt.
The team was made up of nine youngsters who competed against Army, Sea and Police cadets. The competition was made up of five disciplines; Observation, First Aid, Memory, Problem Solving and Communication Skills.
During the observation challenge the cadets had to watch closely as firefighters performed an extrication, they then had to answer ten questions based on the process.
Station Manager in Community Safety, Spencer Rowland said: “This is a fantastic result for a group of really hard working and committed kids. It is an excellent achievement and a credit to their dedication as cadets to have won the award, not least for the second year running.”
A new multi-million pound fire station in Sheffield has been officially opened.
Lord Mayor of Sheffield Cllr Talib Hussain formally unveiled the new Birley Moor fire station.
The new £3.5 million building built by BAM Construction Limited helps to provide first-class emergency fire cover to the south and east of Sheffield, covering a far greater area of South Yorkshire than the former, part-time station at Mosborough, right on the Derbyshire border, was able to.
Birley Moor fire station houses one full time and one part time fire engine, plus some specialist vehicles. It started receiving its first 999 calls in July 2015 and confirms the service’s commitment to providing the best possible emergency response service to the people of South Yorkshire.
The station boasts a number of environmental sustainability features and is also a community facility, with a room available for use free of charge by local community groups, charities and other third sector organisations.
White watch firefighters used the station’s training tower to perform a demonstration in front guests, who included teachers and pupils from nearby Birley Primary School.
Speaking at the event Chief Fire Officer James Courtney, said: “The financial pressures the fire and rescue service faces are both well documented and unprecedented. But this is the second fire station opening I have attended in recent weeks and the facilities both at Parkway station and here at Birley Moor are the best possible physical reminder of the fact that despite the challenges we face we remain absolutely committed to supporting our future.”
Beauty appliances such as hair straighteners and curling irons are a major cause of house fires and dangerous burns, according to the latest research from Electrical Safety First. An estimated 650,0001 house fires in the UK have been caused by a straightener or similar device being left on.
To highlight the issue, Electrical Safety First, with the help of TV celebrity Fred Sirieix, is launching a new campaign today called ‘Pull the Plug’. This campaign is to remind grooming devotees to switch off their beauty appliances.
The findings of this research confirm that many of us are taking serious risks in our beauty regime: one in 12 women2 admit to having left their hair straighteners switched on at least once and almost half of women3 have panicked about leaving an electrical beauty device switched on when they’re out and about.
Emma Apter, Head of Communications at Electrical Safety First said:
“Our research shows that one in 12 women have left a beauty appliance switched on at some point or other, which is extremely worrying. Straighteners can reach temperatures of over 235° and can take up to 40 minutes to cool down. Considering that they reach temperatures hotter than a deep fat-fryer, there’s a very high risk of damage or fire if left near flammable materials.
“We’d like to encourage everyone to pull the plug on accidents caused by hair dryers, straighteners and curling irons. Switch devices off when you’ve finished using them, unplug them and leave them to cool on a mat or heat proof surface.”
Electrical Safety First research has found that people aged between 18 and 24 are particularly at risk. One in three people4in this age group has been burnt by an electrical beauty appliance. The research also shows that over 200,000 people in this age group have experienced a house fire caused by an electrical beauty appliance.
For more information visit www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/pulltheplug or search the hashtag #PullThePlug.