A brave South Yorkshire teenager has helped to officially open a new multi-million pound fire station in Sheffield.

Joe Bowers, who suffered life changing burns as a baby following a house fire, joined Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts in formally unveiling the new Parkway fire station.

The £4 million facility improves South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s service to Sheffield’s major industrial sites, new housing developments in the area and road traffic collisions on Sheffield Parkway.

It houses a full time fire engine and an aerial appliance and also features a community room with audio visual facilities, for use by local residents for meetings and events. The station started receiving its first 999 calls in July 2015.

Red watch firefighters performed a breathing apparatus demonstration in front guests, who included teachers and pupils from nearby Pipworth Community Primary School. Other invitees included Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police David Crompton, members of South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority and staff from contractors BAM Construction Ltd.

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 fantastic new facility is the best possible physical reminder of the fact that despite the challenges we face we remain absolutely committed to supporting our future.

“The site was carefully chosen to improve our emergency response service to the city’s major industrial sites as well as new housing developments nearby and incidents on Sheffield Parkway. But this project has also been about providing our firefighters with a workplace which is befitting of their skills and the vital role they play in our communities.”

Joe Bowers was rescued from a house fire in 2001 when he was just 18 months old and suffered life changing burns and spent months recovering in hospital. Overcoming everything from facial reconstruction to muscle transplants with admirable strength and incredible determination, he was last year awarded Youth of Courage at the Spirit of Fire Awards in London.

The nation’s premier museum celebrating the work of the emergency services will deliver interactive safety information to thousands of visitors thanks to a fire service funded facilities overhaul.

The National Emergency Services museum has launched its new fire and road safety educational facilities with museum goers now benefiting from updated fire safety messages delivered by new computer and audio equipment.

The unveiling this week was attended by representatives from all the emergency services along with members of the South Yorkshire Fire Authority.

The museum gained national status in January 2014 and is embarking on a major re-development.

The National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield was awarded nearly £20,000 to help upgrade its educational display, under the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority’s funding scheme, the Stronger Safer Communities Reserve.

Chair of the Fire Authority, Cllr Jim Andrews said: “The museum has undergone a fantastic refurbishment and upgrade of its educational displays which reflect the most up to date and relevant safety information, which will ultimately help to reduce deaths and injuries from fires and on the roads.”

Matt Wakefield at the National Emergency Services Museum, said: “It’s great to receive support of this nature as it allows the museum to grow, develop and continue to promote life safety through hands-on learning with history.”

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s latest group of new recruits has successfully graduated following 13 weeks of intensive training.

The group of eight firefighters have completed their training at the Training and Development Centre (TDC) in Handsworth and will now join the fire crews at their respective stations at Parkway and Rotherham.

The passing out parade at TDC was attended by their family and friends along with local dignitaries.

During the parade, the newly qualified firefighters showcased their skills and techniques by rescuing casualties from a mock road traffic collision, before being presented with their certificates.

The much anticipated award for Top Trainee went to Firefighter Kim Wilkinson who was presented with the silver axe.

Head of Emergency Response Phil Shillito said: “The recruits have gone through rigorous training to incorporate the demands of the modern firefighter role as we continue to provide the best possible 999 service to the public. They have worked really hard and their achievements today are well deserved.

“The financial pressures the fire and rescue service faces are both well documented and unprecedented. But by recruiting these individuals we have also shown that despite the challenges we face we remain committed to supporting our future.
“We wish them all the best for their future career.”

Firefighters at Stocksbridge station have responded to more than 50 medical emergencies, two months after the launch of South Yorkshire’s first Emergency First Responder (EFR) scheme.

The scheme is a joint initiative between South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) and Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) which sees firefighters called out to certain life-threatening incidents at the same time as an ambulance.

Medical emergencies attended since the scheme went live on 1 November 2015 include several cardiac arrests and incidents stating chest pains and breathing difficulties. At other incidents, firefighters have provided support and made the patient comfortable until the ambulance service arrived on scene.

Training for firefighters taking part in the pilot included basic life support, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and oxygen therapy. They are equipped with a kit which includes oxygen and an automated external defibrillator to help patients in a medical emergency such as a heart attack, collapse or breathing difficulties.

An EFR is despatched at the same time as an ambulance and does not replace the usual emergency medical response from YAS. However, their location within the local community could mean they are nearer to the scene in those first critical minutes of a medical emergency, delivering life-saving care until an ambulance arrives.

They also support and complement other volunteer community first responder schemes within South Yorkshire, ensuring the level of medical provision to local communities is supplemented.

Emergency First Responders are only available for dispatch when staffing levels at their fire station allow and the scheme does not impact fire cover.

On-call firefighters at Rossington and Dearne fire stations have become the latest in South Yorkshire to attend EFR calls.

Head of Emergency Response at SYFR Phil Shillito said: “Two months after this scheme went live, our firefighters are already showing the incredible value they can add to their communities and the role we can play as a fire service in enhancing the work of our emergency service partners and volunteer community first responders.

“Our role as a fire service will always be to protect our communities and reach and save those who are in danger as quickly as possible. So I think it’s only natural for us to look for other ways to extend our skills and support the work of other local bodies, like the ambulance service.”

YAS Head of Community Resilience Paul Stevens said: “The demand placed upon blue light emergency services increases every year and our approaches to providing the best response and best patient outcomes are continually evolving. This is an innovative and alternative way of working with our partners which will lead to more lives being saved.”

South Yorkshire firefighters have been asked to take part in the flood relief in Lancashire.

A group of 13 firefighters are travelling to the flood hit area, taking the High Volume Pump (HVP) to assist emergency services battling the flooding.

HVPs are capable of moving huge volumes of water, and South Yorkshire’s is capable of pumping 8,000 litres of water a minute. Once they arrive in Lancashire they will then be deployed to where they are needed most.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s firefighters, most of whom are normally based at Aston Park  and Tankersley fire stations, are expected to remain in Lancashire for several days.

Head of Emergency Response Phil Shillito, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer practical and strategic support to our colleagues in Lancashire.”

“The High Volume Pump is an extremely powerful piece of kit and is ideally suited to helping to deal with the quantities of water we are talking about in Lancashire right now.

“To be part of such a massive relief effort is extremely rewarding for those involved and I would like to thank them on behalf of the people that they are assisting.”

Senior officers agreed to make their resources available following a request from the National Co-ordinating Centre, after ensuring they were satisfied with the fire and rescue provision which remains available for local people in South Yorkshire.

The fire service’s tradition of sharing national assets benefited communities in Doncaster in 2007, when more than 30 HVPs from all over the country helped to pump out flooded areas around Bentley and Toll Bar.

Generous fire service staff are backing food banks in South Yorkshire this Christmas, by making bumper festive donations.

Food has been collected across South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue premises, including its Sheffield headquarters, and is being delivered to food banks across the county, including those in Rotherham and Doncaster.

The service says that partnering with food banks allows it to give vital fire safety information to people who need it the most.

Food bank visitors are encouraged to refer themselves for a home safety check, whereby fire service staff visit a person’s home, explain to them how to make it safer and fit smoke alarms for free if needed. Dozens have signed up so far.

Fire safety officers also hold regular drop in sessions, giving face-to-face safety and fire prevention advice to service users and their families.

Area Manager Steve Helps, said: “House fires have reduced massively in the last decade, but sadly the people who are most likely to suffer a fire are also often the hardest to reach with fire safety information. That’s why it’s important that we work closely with partners, like local food banks, so that we can continue reduce deaths and injuries in accidental house fires.”