MARCH 2012 INFORMATIVE The quarterly bulletin of the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service NEW PARTNERSHIP ‘TIME IT RIGHT WORKING IN BABELL Working alongside Flintshire - DON’T SET IT ALIGHT Neighbourhood Wardens to Launching a cooking safely promote fire safety campaign in the Wrexham county CROGEN CADET CHALLENGE FIREWORKS PROCEEDS Youngsters step up to Local charities benefit from the challengee fireworks display SAFE CONTROLLED BURNING Working in partnership with a specialist officer to help farmers burn safely www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk PreventinG / ProteCTING / RESPONDING FIREWORKS PROCEEDS PLOUGHED BACK INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES ‘TIME IT RIGHT – DON’T SET IT ALIGHT!’ North Wales Fire and Rescue Service launched a cooking safely campaign in February to target residents Firefighters from Deeside and Nigel Sephton of Deeside Fire Station, Peter Edwards, Watch Manager at Mold in the Wrexham county in a bid to reduce the number of kitchen fires that occur in the area. Mold have recently presented said: “On behalf of all at Deeside Fire Station, said: “I would like to thank local charities and organisations Fire Station, I would like to take this everyone involved in organising last Cooking is the cause of over half of all supermarkets in the town on Fridays “Time and time again we attend with money raised from their opportunity to thank everybody who year’s bonfire. It was a real team effort accidental fires in the home in North where Fire and Rescue Service staff are house fires which have started in the annual bonfire and fireworks helped make this year’s display such a with everyone pulling together to produce Wales – and this figure rises to over on hand to provide potentially life saving kitchen – it is so easy to forget your displays. success. an excellent event that was enjoyed by 58% in the Wrexham region, where advice to shoppers. cooking, especially if you are tired, the whole community. there’s the highest number of cooking distracted or have been drinking. But the Simon Smith, Chief Fire Officer, “We’d like to remind everyone to ensure related fires per head of population. Paul Whybro from North Wales Fire and consequences can be devastating. presented representatives from 29 that they always attend an organised “We are proud to be working with the Rescue Service said: charities at Deeside Fire Station in display as this is the safest way to enjoy residents of North Wales to keep them The ‘Time it right – Don’t set it alight!’ “So please take notice of our campaign, December with cheques totalling bonfire night.” as safe as possible, and seeing the campaign will run until April highlighting come along to see us at a supermarket £3,000. money going back into the community the dangers of getting distracted whilst “It is our responsibility to do near you – we’ll provide you with a Gary Brandrick, Senior Operations Manager, makes all the organisation and hard work preparing food as well as the risks everything we can to highlight useful kitchen timer and the chance to A number of local charities such as attended a presentation evening at Mold worthwhile.” involved with leaving your cooking this statistic but when it comes to win a hamper full of luxury items in our Flintshire Deaf Children Society as well Fire Station where £1,000 was presented unattended. changing behaviour to keep safe competition.” as national charities such as Action for to each of the two chosen charities, St – we can only advise and then it Children were amongst those to benefit John’s Ambulance and Shooting Stars at Forgetting to turn off the hob, leaving is up to the individual, to heed our from the event. Wrexham Maelor Hospital. food in the microwave for too long, advice. overheating a chip pan, burning the toast, leaving the oven on – all of these can NEW PARTNERSHIP WORKING IN BABELL spell disaster in the kitchen and can lead to serious injury or, even more worryingly, Staff from the Service recently worked alongside Flintshire the loss of life. Neighbourhood Wardens to promote fire safety following a double fatality which occurred at a house fire in Babell in November. Staff from the Corporate Communications Team are out and about talking to A campaign took place in January where officers from both organisations shoppers about how to stay safe in the visited the rural parishes around Holywell to offer a multi agency kitchen and providing free kitchen timers approach by carrying out free home fire safety checks to residents in to encourage people to think safe when the area as well as installing free smoke alarms where necessary. they are cooking and to remember to time their cooking correctly. Seven Neighbourhood Wardens joined staff from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and 76 home fire safety checks were completed during the day. A high profile advertisement campaign is www.viewcreative.co.uk also part of the camapign on the back of The event was a great success and both organisations are looking at collaborating buses travelling in and around Wrexham, again on future initiates over the coming months. linked to a leafleting campaign in local schools, encouraging people to visit local // 2 www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk // 3 SHARING FACILITIES Gareth Griffiths, Senior Fire Safety Manager, added: “We have had an excellent response to our ‘Call before WITH NORTH WALES you burn!’ campaign and are pleased to be working in partnership with Nick CROGEN and Denbighshire County Council on POLICE IN NEFYN the latest phase. By joining forces and CADET CHALLENGE visiting local markets together we will be able to make face to face contact with For the second year running, The landowners to get our messages across. Agreement has been reached on proposals for a new fire station Phoenix Project entered a new team We have also worked with animal food to be built at Nefyn in Gwynedd which will provide a modern base of 14 youngsters in the Crogen suppliers this year and they have allowed for retained firefighters as well as potential facilities for officers Cadet Challenge. us to leave products with our messages from North Wales Police. on them in their stores across North All participants had completed a Wales which has supported our Phoenix course at one of eight The shared investment, worth just under The new fire station at Nefyn will be home campaign. venues across North Wales within the £900,000, will help to standardise the to a crew of 12 retained fire fighters who previous 12 months. However, the future design of retained fire stations live or work within four minutes of the PARTNERSHIP WORKING TO PROMOTE “We are urging all landowners event was the first time that they all as well as enhance joint working station as well as to the local policing undertaking controlled burning to performed together as a team. partnerships and help to reduce design team. SAFE CONTROLLED BURNING notify us by calling our control room on and build costs. 01745 535 805. This will help avoid The Challenge was devised in 2009 Stephen Roberts, Head of Facilities and false alarms and crews being sent out by Major Henry Robertson, who in his Colin Hanks, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Logistics Management, is organising the Firefighters have been working in partnership with a specialist unnecessarily as well as ensuring we are year of office as High Sheriff of Clwyd, explained: “Our fire and rescue service project on behalf of both organisations officer from Denbighshire County Council to help ensure farmers ready to respond in the event of a burn determined that an event bringing already shares a facilities management and explained that setting a template on the Clwydian Range undertake their controlled burning in the getting out of control. together cadets from the armed and department as well as an operational in this way will help to make future safest and most effective way possible while helping to protect and emergency services would be put floor in the Joint Communications savings: “We can meet the needs of conserve their landscape. “We are also asking these landowners together to showcase young people Centre in St Asaph, and there are many both emergency services under one to be responsible when it comes to involved in uniformed organisations. Nick Critchley, Moorland Field Officer extinguishing tool available for use on additional examples of successful roof, creating modern facilities which controlled burning. The fires are set in for the Heather and Hillforts Project, local farms. partnership working between the two will help improve the services of both areas where access is extremely difficult The event, held at the Crogen Estate works to care for the natural and emergency services. organisations in the local community.” and water supply is limited. If a fire gets in Corwen, involved cadets from the historic heritage of the Clwydian range Staff from North Wales Fire and Rescue out of control, this can place tremendous Armed and Emergency Services taking and Llandysylio mountains. Service also visited the markets in “This project is seen as an extension of North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority pressure on resources, with firefighters part in a one day challenge consisting Gaerwen, Bryncir and Dolgellau for the this, working together to serve the local Chair Sharon Frobisher said she tied up for a considerable length of of five activities. These activities He joined forces with North Wales Fire second time this season. community as well as being able to save welcomes the development: “The new fire time trying to bring them under control. ranged from river rescues to trailer and Rescue Service for the latest phase on costs, instead of having two separate station has the potential to be a first of a These fires can put homes, livestock and pulls and required cadets to work of the ‘Call before you burn!’ campaign, Nick said: “We work with local farmers stand alone premises.