Page 12 - link magazine

12 The Link Magazine • February 1999
School launches learn not to burn
Youngsters at Salt Way primary carried out a fire practice with a difference on 15 January.
The alarm sounded and the chil- Jackie Harbron said she had been very disorientating to find your
dren made an orderly emergency shaken by the experience of the way down a smoke filled corridor
B ELVOIR exit in the pouring rain. realistic fire drill. "It was carried with children. Fire is something
A few moments later they out very professionally, but it was we must take very seriously."
cheered as a crew from Westlea
Belvoir provides fire station arrived, blue lights
a most complete and flashing, to carry out a drill. Health
professional Property and Safety Officer and school ad-
ministrator Jackie Harbron and
Management Service. two children were 'found' within
the school by firefighters wearing
Our reputation, competi-
breathing sets and rescued through
tive rates and personal a smoke filled corridor
service are acknowledged The school had been selected to
launch a fire brigade educational
throughout the UK.
package called 'Learn Not to Burn'
aimed at giving children an early
Landlords & Tenants,
awareness of the dangers of fire.
for information, listings, The drill was followed by a talk on
insurance, Buy to Let fire hazards and a demonstration
schemes and of equipment by Westlea fire fight-
ers. Teachers also have use of fire Firefighters Andy Magnall, left, and Ian Jeary 'rescue'
impartial advice: awareness teaching resources. Rebecca Palmer, 10, and Dean Hobbs, 6, and Jackie Harbron
Call Belvoir Now
The sound of sirens: what to do
FREEPhone The scream of sirens and a blue light in the rear view mirror strikes terror in the minds of many drivers.
0800 7316069 Firefighter Sean Dunham, from Westlea fire station makes an appeal to pull over.
Fax 01249 760670 Imagine the scene, a typical af- involved need help as quickly as at risk, not only at the incident but
ternoon at the fire station when all possible. also on the roads.
E-mail of a sudden the 'bells go down', a So, we climb aboard the appli- Fire fighters have died when
[email protected] fire call. ance and start to make our way, as they were involved in road traffic
http://www.belvoirgroup.com The incident? A house fire with fast but as safely as possible. The accidents. One such incident was
person trapped; this type of call route chosen is the best one for us, when a crew were responding to
could come at any time. Those bearing in mind roadworks, one what they thought was a serious
way systems, low bridges and traf- house fire. On route they were
fic build up. involved in an accident and two
Does this sound familiar to you? fire fighters died. The call was
All of a sudden you hear a siren actually a hoax! A result I am sure
from somewhere, but where? You the caller never intended.
look in your rear view mirror and These accidents can be caused
see a bright orange, 13 tonne fire by many factors, which is why
engine bearing down on you with EFAD drivers need to demonstrate
blue lights flashing, siren wailing a high level of skill and awareness.
and bull horn blasting, announc- So what advice can we give you
ing our impending arrival. to help us? If is is safe, indicate left
What do you do? Panic is the and pull over. If you can't, don't
answer for most people. Unfortu- just stop dead. Keep going until
nately this isn't very helpful for us you can pull over, but please do
because you become unpredictable not stop in any old place as it may
and we need to plan our route past restrict our view or cause us to
other vehicles. take evasive action. Only stop
To become an EFAD (emergency where it is safe to do so.
fire appliance driver), we must Indicate your intentions, what-
undertake a special driving course ever they are. If you give a clear
under the direction of the brigade indication in plenty of time we
driving instructor. This course plus will manoeuvre around you.
six months non-emergency driv- When vehicles in front of you
ing teaches us the basic skills re- pull over to allow us through, don't
quired to handle the appliance. use this as an opportunity to get
Try to imagine the stress placed ahead of the cars in front, not only
on the driver. He or she has to is it an obstacle to us but it is very
think of the safety of the crew, be dangerous.
aware of the actions of other road Likewise, don't try following an
users and pedestrians, plan a safe emergency appliance through traf-
route through traffic and bear in fic. Other road users may not be
mind that somebody may be in a prepared for you coming through
life threatening situation and re- and as we sometimes pass through
quire help. But we don't actually red lights you may cause a serious
know for sure until our arrival at accident.
the scene. Remember, we are trying to get
Every time fire fighters respond there as fast as we can, but as safely
to a call they are putting their lives as possible.