The fire service has teamed up with food banks in Rotherham in a ground breaking partnership to reduce blazes.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue says that working with Rotherham food bank allows them 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.

Rotherham food bank is part of the Trussell Trust’s network of more than 400 such facilities across the UK.

Fire service staff are also supporting the group’s work by collecting food and donating it to several food banks across South Yorkshire.

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 Rotherham food bank, so that if we can continue reduce deaths and injuries in accidental house fires.”

A fire service emergency planning manager has delivered a major speech on business continuity to a global audience.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) business continuity manager Russ Parramore delivered a speech at the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) World Conference and Exhibition in London, which attracted more than 1,000 delegates from over 100 countries.

The presentation detailed how the fire service has developed its risk, resilience and business continuity arrangements throughout history.

In particular, Russ focussed on the introduction of the Fire and Rescue Service Act [2004] and the Civil Contingencies Act [2004, which created a new requirement for the fire service to have business continuity plans in place.

As a result of these laws, the presentation detailed how SYFR has developed its plans over the last decade to become of the world’s leading public service authorities on business continuity.

Russ Parramore said: “Business continuity is a hot topic for many large organisations, both public and private, as they seek to work out how they can limit the disruption to their staff and the people they serve after a catastrophic event, which could range from a simple power outage to severe staff shortages.

“The fire service has always been at the forefront of this sort of work and risk and resilience has been at the heart of what we do for hundreds of years.

“It’s a coup for South Yorkshire and for the fire sector as a whole that I was able to share my experiences with a global audience and to explain how business continuity has gone from being seen as a statutory duty that must be done, to something that is truly embedded across an entire organisation.”

For more information on business continuity, visit https://www.syfire.gov.uk/business-advice/business-continuity

South Yorkshire firefighters have taken their most powerful piece of pumping equipment to assist emergency services battling the flooding in Cumbria.

Six firefighters travelled to the flood hit county over the weekend, taking with them a High Volume Pump (HVP). A further team of firefighters will relieve them on Monday morning (7 December).

HVPs are capable of moving huge volumes of water, and South Yorkshire’s is capable of pumping 8,000 litres of water a minute. Its first deployment has been to pump flood water back into the River Derwent in Cockermouth.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s firefighters, most of whom are normally based at Aston Park fire station, are expected to remain in Cumbria 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 Cumbria.”

“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 Cumbria 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.

A fire station based ‘memory cafe’ which aims to support the growing numbers of people in South Yorkshire who live with dementia has been officially launched.

Adwick fire station at Quarry Lane, Woodlands hosts the monthly memory cafe as part of a new partnership between South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and the Alzheimer’s Society.

The events, held once each month on a Thursday afternoon, provide an opportunity for people living with dementia and their carers to meet in a safe, managed environment and to take part in activities to promote mental and physical wellbeing, like games and health walks.

An Alzheimers Society Dementia Support Worker also attends each meeting to give information and support to carers.

Leaders including South Yorkshire Fire Authority Vice Chair Cllr Alan Atkin, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Martin Blunden and Integrated Dementia Lead for Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group Wayne Goddard were amongst those who attended the launch, alongside carers and their loved ones.

Officers believe the project will benefit the fire service by providing a vital link with one of its key target groups in terms of vulnerability to fire.

They think the partnership also highlights the growing role the fire service can play in promoting health and wellbeing in the communities it serves.

Area Manager Steve Helps, said: “In the last decade, the fire service has helped to make South Yorkshire safer than is 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 project is the perfect illustration of that aspiration, where fire service resources are helping to improve the lives of one of the most vulnerable groups in society.”

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is also a member of the Yorkshire & Humber Dementia Alliance, which is committed to tackling the growing issue of dementia within our communities.

Hundreds of its staff have also signed up to become Dementia Friends- a Government backed initiative which teaches people a little bit more about what it’s like to live with dementia, and then turns that understanding into action.

Paul Harrison, Alzheimer’s Society Operations Manager for South Yorkshire ,said: “We are delighted to enter into this partnership with the fire service and are grateful to them for hosting the Memory Café in their premises – it is certainly one of our more unusual locations.

“Alzheimer’s Society research has shown that people living with dementia thrive better if they can continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible, but they can be very vulnerable to risks in the home including fire. Working with the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is a vital part of creating supportive dementia friendly communities and improving both safety and wellbeing of people living with dementia and their carers in the area.”

Integrated Dementia Lead for Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group Wayne Goddard, said: “This is a great initiative on so many levels; firstly as 50% of deaths caused by fire involve older people and dementia is mainly concerned with older people, this dementia café not only brings people, partners and communities together for support but actually helps Doncaster with its prevention agenda.

“People with dementia and their carers tell me the café is great and they love coming and it almost feels ‘more normal’ so the arrangement also helps with stigma which can often be a barrier for people living normal lives. I have nothing but praise for the partnership and hopefully we can expand this model to Doncaster’s other stations.”

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has community rooms available at many of its fire stations across the county which are available to use, free of charge, to a variety of charities and community organisations.

For more information click here

Planners have approved proposals for a joint police and fire station in Maltby.

Maltby fire station will close and Maltby police station will be modified to accommodate fire service vehicles and staff, under the plans approved by Rotherham Council.

The project won Government Transformation Funding of £560,000 last year and will help save both South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue money by sharing building running costs, enabling funding to be targeted at frontline services.

The move will shift fire service resources around a mile closer to the east side of Rotherham, which traditionally accounts for a greater volume of emergency incidents compared to lower risk areas to the east of Maltby.

It will also improve services by making it easier for police and firefighters to share knowledge, skills and expertise when tackling common issues, like anti-social behaviour and road traffic collisions. In a similar way, it will also help both organisations to reach the most vulnerable members of the community.

SYFR Director of Finance & Resources Beverley Sandy, said: “This move makes perfect sense for us, for the police and for the taxpayer. Instead of having two public buildings, and all the running costs associated with them, we will be able to combine our resources into one facility to provide a more efficient frontline service.

“By working alongside each other under one roof, the move will also benefit both organisations by improving how we work together to solve problems we both face, which can only help to improve the quality of the service we offer to local people.”

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “We are constantly looking for ways in which to work in collaboration with partners and implement efficiency savings. I welcome this move to bring both emergency services together to serve the community of Maltby.”

Kier has been appointed as the main contractor for the project and the final specification will be submitted to the Fire Authority in January, with a view to the new facility opening in later in 2016.

Maltby fire station on High Street is currently home to one full time fire engine. Work to begin making the necessary changes to Maltby police station on Byford Road is expected to begin in the New Year, with a view to the new facility opening in summer 2016.

Community Achievement Awards winners announced

Rotherham salutes volunteer and community groups at moving ceremony

The wide-reaching impact of Rotherham’s Voluntary and Community Sector was recognised at Friday’s twelfth annual Community Achievement Awards, where individual and group winners in three categories were announced in an emotional ceremony compered by Michael Kilby-Scott from Rother FM.

Julia Bodorova collected the award for Young Volunteer, sponsored by Morthyng Group Ltd and open to under 25’s. Julia volunteers for RMAARI and has been instrumental in the development of the girls’ football team as well as volunteering for youth club sessions, Ministry of Food cooking lessons and interpreting and translating for participants. Other Young Volunteer finalists were Toni Paxford who volunteers for Rotherham Youth Cabinet, dedicating her time to campaigns such as mental health, Votes at 16 and the Living Wage. The third finalist was Emily Taylor who is a Community First Responder, attending life threatening emergencies in her local area. Carole Haywood, Manager of the Rotherham Partnership and Chris MacCormac, Chief Executive, Morthyng Group Ltd presented the awards.

The 2015 Volunteer award, which was sponsored by Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, was scooped by Phil Bowers, a Community Safety Volunteer with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue carrying out home safety checks and fitting fire alarms in Rotherham. Other volunteers shortlisted for the final nominations included Brian Button the Chair of Active Independence who provides support to disabled people, older people, their carers and families. Cath McCartan was the other finalist. Cath is a volunteer and steering group member for the Big Local in Thurcroft, a partnership of local residents making Thurcroft a better place to live. The awards were presented by Andrew Mosley, Editor at Rotherham Advertiser and Paul Jagger, President at Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce.

In the Project category, sponsored by Irwin Mitchell, the winner was Tassibee, which provides support to isolated and socially excluded Asian women. Other finalists in the category were Environmentalist Litter Pickers who are a group of children keeping the Abbey Reach estate in Maltby litter free and Rotherham Dementia Action Alliance who aim to create dementia friendly work and public space. The awards were presented by Carole Haywood, Manager of the Rotherham Partnership and Alison Gregory and Katy Bailey from Irwin Mitchell Solicitors.

This year a Special Recognition Award, sponsored by Age UK Rotherham, was also presented to Edna Bateman who volunteers at Rotherham Hospice Charity shop. At 99 years young Edna has volunteered for the last 18 years, liking to keep busy and active. The award was presented by the Mayor, Cllr Maggi Clark and Lesley Dabell, Chief Executive at Age UK Rotherham.

The evening was rounded off with a selection of songs from the Rotherham Teachers’ Student Academy. The talented youngsters entertaining the audience were Charlotte Hucknall, Isabel Canning and Matt Roddis.

Organised by Voluntary Action Rotherham on behalf of Rotherham Partnership, the Community Achievement Awards were staged at the Carlton Park Hotel.

Notes

Voluntary Action Rotherham is a registered Charity and provides advice and support services to voluntary and community sector groups and organisations across Rotherham.

The Community Achievement Awards are held annually to celebrate the work of individuals and projects in the voluntary and community sector that have made a significant difference to the communities of Rotherham.

Organised by Voluntary Action Rotherham on behalf of the Rotherham Partnership, the Awards first took place in 2003 and have celebrated the achievements of Rotherhams Voluntary and community sector.