Fire and Rescue Service is seeking female firefighters through football and futsal

Pic 1
Redborne winning Team Captain with, left, England star Siobhan and right Anika Leslie-Walker from the Beds FA

Pic 2
Winning Team Captain from Hastingsbury, Kempston with, left, Chair of the Combined Fire Authority Luton Cllr Sian Timoney

Fire and Rescue Service is seeking female firefighters through football and futsal for the goal of an:
Extraordinary Career
http://extraordinary.direct.gov.uk/index.aspx

A female five-a-side futsal tournament has been staged to encourage young women to get fit and consider a career as a firefighter.

Watching from the sidelines was England and Chelsea player Siobhan Chamberlain .

Run in conjunction with the Beds FA, Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service staff who are trained as football coaches helped to create futsal teams in schools and colleges then competed in a grand final on Wednesday 28th April.

The final was held at the Barker’s Lane sports stadium in Bedford with special presentations staged afterwards at the Bedford community fire station across the road. The winners were a team from Hastingbury School in Kempston (Over 16s) and Redborne in Ampthill (Under 16s) The trophy was presented by the Chair of the Combined Fire Authority Cllr Sian Timoney.

Project co-ordindator on behalf of BLFRS has been Watch Commander Matt Cross: “We have had a lot of support from firefighters, from BLFRS principal officers, from the Beds FA and from local schools, colleges and clubs. We had ten teams, involving more than 100 young women, competing in the final.

“We are always trying to encourage women to think about a career in the fire and rescue service and we hope this activity will help them to make that choice.

“Being role models for fitness is also important for firefighters who want to help young people avoid the health problems which can come with a lack of exercise.”

Those taking part in the games were young women aged 14 upwards who are interested in football and find futsal an exciting variation of the “beautiful game”.

The training of BLFRS staff as football coaches has allowed them to support various other soccer events involving young people in Bedfordshire and Luton.

BLFRS has a track record of supporting football teams and tournaments with a view to passing community fire safety messages on to children and their families and young people.

A major Faith Football tournament in Luton has twice resulted in a grand final at Luton Town FC with firefighters competing against a top squad of local soccer stars.

Firefighters also referee and run the line at a Nacro football tournament in Houghton Regis each year.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller said: “Promoting fitness among young people is something which our firefighters can do by example.

“We also believe that encouraging young people to play team sports is a good way of them learning to work together while enjoying themselves.

“At the same time we hope to get across some messages to them about home fire safety and taking care on the roads, particularly those who are teenage drivers.

“This female futsal tournament is great for appealing to all those young women who are interested in football and fitness and who we want to encourage to become firefighters."

Film footage can be viewed on www.local-news.tv

Photographs will be posted on the Fire Chief’s Twitter www.twitter.com/firechiefblfrs

ends

England and Chelsea player Siobhan Chamberlain joins our football event on 28 April

Newflash: England team player Siobhan Chamberlain will join our event 28th April, Siobhan currently plays for Chelsea and has 16 CAPS for the England women’s senior team.

Fire and Rescue Service seeking female firefighters through football and futsal to embark on an : Extraordinary Career

A female five-a-side futsal tournament has been staged to encourage young women to get fit and consider a career as a firefighter.

Run in conjunction with the Beds FA, Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service staff have been trained as football coaches to help create futsal teams in schools and colleges which will then all compete in a grand final on Wednesday 28th April.

The final will be held at the Barker’s Lane sports stadium in Bedford with special presentations being held afterwards at the community fire station across the road.

Project coordindator on behalf of BLFRS has been Watch Commander Matt Cross: “We have had a lot of support from firefighters, from BLFRS principal officers, from the Beds FA and from local schools, colleges and clubs. We expect to have ten teams competing in the final.

“We are always trying to encourage women to think about a career in the fire and rescue service and we hope this activity will help them to make that choice.

“Being role models for fitness is also important for firefighters who want to help young people avoid the health problems which can come with a lack of exercise.”

Those taking part in the games so far have been girls aged 14 upwards who are interested in football and find futsal an exciting variation of the “beautiful game”.

The training of BLFRS staff as football coaches has allowed them to support various other soccer events involving young people in Bedfordshire and Luton.

BLFRS has a track record of supporting football teams and tournaments with a view to passing community fire safety messages on to children and their families and young people.

A major Faith Football tournament in Luton has twice resulted in a grand final at Luton Town FC with firefighters competing against a top squad of local soccer stars.

Firefighters also referee and run the line at a Nacro football tournament in Houghton Regis each year.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller said: “Promoting fitness among young people is something which our firefighters can do by example.

“We also believe that encouraging young people to play team sports is a good way of them learning to work together while enjoying themselves.

“At the same time we hope to get across some messages to them about home fire safety and taking care on the roads, particularly those who are teenage drivers.

"The female futsal tournament is great for appealing to all those young women who are interested in football and fitness and who we want to encourage to become firefighters."

Details on careers for women in the fire service can be found at

http://extraordinary.direct.gov.uk/index.aspx

Kick off 3 pm - 5 pm followed by presentation at Bedford Fire Station in Barker's Lane.

Contact Jacquie Manners at Manners PR 07971 216014

Fire crews swift action saves lives

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Control received several 999 calls from 01.39 onwards on Friday 23rd April about a fire in a house at Salisbury Road, Luton.

On arrival crews found a mobility scooter blazing in the entrance hall to the property, thick smoke in the stairs and a man trapped inside. After putting out the fire, crews wearing Breathing Apparatus gained access to the property and rescued the man who was taken to hospital by the ambulance service.

Incident and Station Commander Kevin Moores said: “This was an excellent example of emergency services equipped and trained to save someone’s life. Without the intervention of the Fire and Rescue Service this man would not have been able to escape the fire.

“His home was filled with thick, black smoke which only firefighters with BA equipment could endure.”

An investigation is underway to discover how the fire started - if it was in or around the mobility scooter and if so, the cause of ignition.

A Fire Investigation (FIst) Officer will be working with a Police Scenes of Crime Officer (SoCO) to pull together the evidence from the scene.

MEANWHILE ON 20TH APRIL : WARNING after five people rescued from fire

Fire crews had to rescue five people from a flat fire after a wheelie bin had been set alight in the stairwell.

The fire was one of a series started deliberately in waste bins in the Luton area - firefighters were called to three in quick succession in the early hours of 20th April:

01.50 fire in bin in Vincent Road, Leagrave - a fire appliance from Luton attended and put out the fire and was then mobilised to:

02.08 fire in bin at Ackworth Court in Ackworth Crescent but approached scene crews noticed smoke arising from:

Pond Close where the stairwell was smokelogged and people were trapped in four flats on ground and first floor.

Further crews from Stopsley and Toddington, who had been mobilised after a 999 call to Fire Control at 02.11, joined the Pond Close fire and whilst some put out the fire others helped three people down a ladder from the first floor, led one person to safety from the ground floor and, once the fire was extinguished, led a fifth person to safety down the stairwell.

Area Commander Dave Fothergill who joined the incident said : “This is another case of a fire being started in a bin kept at the bottom of a central stairwell which causes people to be trapped as this is their only escape route. Here the residents had done all the right things: they were alerted by smoke alarms and stayed behind closed doors which kept the smoke at bay until the Fire and Rescue Service arrived within minutes. However, setting fire to rubbish bins clearly puts people’s lives at risk in such situations. We are today carrying out a Fire Investigation with Police Scenes of Crime Officers but we believe it was deliberate

“The crews did a tremendous job in getting the fire under control and helping people to escape.”

*Further bin fires were reported later on that same morning at 08.34 in Harvey’s Hill, Bushmead Luton and again at 09.52 in Vincent Road.

Join the Goldington Week of Action

Firefighters are supporting the Bedford Borough Partnership’s Week of Action in Goldington from 6th - 9th of April.

There will be a variety of events and activities designed to encourage people to build safer, sustainable communities.

Part of this is about involving young people and encouraging them to take part in activities.

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service invited firefighters who are trained football coaches to support the programme. A football tournament involving schools from across Goldington was being staged at Woodside Middle School, Church Lane on 6th April.

Station Commander Kevin Moores and Community Safety Manager (North) Derek Hobbs worked with the partnership and firefighters to organise the event.

Throughout the week of action firefighters will be conducting home fire safety checks to make sure houses have working smoke detectors fitted.

*Firefighters have been trained as football coaches to support a range of activities across BLFRS. On April 28th a female futsal tournament is being held in Barker’s Lane, Bedford followed by presentations at the Bedford Fire Station.

See Harrold Fire Station Firefighters in action

Harrold Fire Station is staging a community safety day on Sunday April 11th from 12 noon to 2 pm at Harrold Country Park with fun for all the family.

There will be a car cutting demonstration to bring home the dangers associated with careless driving - firefighters have to rescue SEVEN times as many people from car wrecks as they do from burning buildings.

Details from:
James Bayliss,
Watch Commander Harrold Fire Station.
Phone 01234 720330
Mobile 07787150059
E-Mail james.bayliss@bedsfire.com

Firefighters join Diversity event

pic captions:
(1 and 2) Diversity event attracts 1,600 people
(3) Polish dancers and family at the Queen's Park event

A record number of people turned out for the Spring “Celebrating Diversity” Event held at Queen's Park Bedford on Saturday 27th March.

Bedfordshire's New Migration Partnership and Bedford Borough's Queen's Park Neighbourhood Centre teamed up with a host of other partners to deliver a fun-packed afternoon of family entertainment, performances, and foods from across the world. A total of 1,638 people attended.

Performances on the day included: World Poetry, African Drumming, Asian Dance, Polish Song and Dance, Italian Performers and Street Dance. World Foods, for tasting on the day included: Asian, Italian, Eastern European, African, English and Vegan and raw foods.

There was opportunity during the event for new migrants to talk about, and record, their experiences of settling in Bedfordshire, both through a video booth and an art competition.

The event also provided migrant families with an opportunity to access information, support and advice from a range organisations such as the Fire and Rescue Service who gave home fire safety advice

Feedback from the event will help those organisation to improve services for new migrants and local communities.

BLFRS Community Safety Officer Derek Hobbs said: “It was a really great event and good chance for us to talk to people about how we can help keep them safe. We have funding for a group of BLFRS volunteers dedicated to working with the Polish community so those links with people on the day were especially helpful.”

Joseph takes BLFRS training back to Kenya

Pic captions:
(1) Joseph being interviewed by Anglia TV
(2) Ray Willett shows Joseph the ropes
(3) Drilling in Kempston station yard
(4) At a shout in North Bedfordshire

A fire engine donated to a town called Meru in Kenya is already helping to save lives in the African country.

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service and the Combined Fire Authority decided to donate a vehicle, which was going out of service, and it was handed over in April 2009. Now one of the Kenyan firefighters who rides that truck is in the UK receiving top level training from BLFRS:

Joseph Githuka Njoroge, aged 27, is an electrician by trade and is one of ten firefighters who crew the fire applicance in Meru.

He arrived in UK on the weekend of March 6th and began activity on at Kempston fire station a few days later.

He has been on a series of “shouts” with firefighters to see a top British fire team in action.

After work he is spending time with friends from Dunstable Community Church* which was involved in the original idea of donating a fire engine to the town of Meru.

After BLFRS donated the vehicle last year, Transport and Engineering Manager and retained firefighter Ray Willett and colleagues joined representatives from the Dunstable church in travelling to Kenya to train the local firefighters and teach how to look after the vehicle.

Without a fire pump, firefighters are unable to operate. In the past other brigades have donated trucks to countries overseas, but soon they are off the road through lack of engineering expertise to keep them functional. Ray recognised this problem and so he and two colleagues (BLFRS workshops technician Michael Yawn and retained firefighter and AA man Colin Sheldon), at their own expense, travelled to Kenya to give the local firefighters some training.

There they met Joseph who was keen to learn more - and so arrangements were made for him to come back to the UK.

Speaking alongside his new friends at BLFRS, Joseph said: “We were very happy to receive the fire engine in Meru it already gets us to fires and accidents quicker and with better equipment.

“When I get back to Meru my challenge will be to keep the crew training, always training. As the firefighters do here in Bedfordshire.”

During his seven weeks here Joseph is undertaking a range of training from the workshops where he will learn to keep the fire truck on the road through: First Aid, Water Rescue, Line Rescue, Road Traffic Collisions, Community Safety, Small Equipment Maintenance, Personal Fitness and Driving.

Said Ray Willett: “I would like to say a big thank to all those for helping with Joe’s training and for giving him such a fantastic experience in the UK. He is just soaking up the information and really enjoying being part of BLFRS.”

*Joseph is leaving the UK on April 22nd - he is hoping to spend his final few days at Dunstable fire station close to his friends at the Dunstable Community Church.

Fire and Rescue Service seeking female firefighters through football and futsal

A female five-a-side futsal tournament has been staged to encourage young women to get fit and consider a career as a firefighter.

Run in conjunction with the Beds FA, Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service staff have been trained as football coaches to help create futsal teams in schools and colleges which will then all compete in a grand final on Wednesday 28th April.

The final will be held at the Barker’s Lane sports stadium in Bedford with special presentations being held afterwards at the community fire station across the road.

Project coordindator on behalf of BLFRS has been Watch Commander Matt Cross: “We have had a lot of support from firefighters, from BLFRS principal officers, from the Beds FA and from local schools, colleges and clubs. We expect to have ten teams competing in the final.

“We are always trying to encourage women to think about a career in the fire and rescue service and we hope this activity will help them to make that choice.

“Being role models for fitness is also important for firefighter who want to help young people avoid the health problems which can come with a lack of exercise.”

Those taking part in the games so far have been girls aged 14 upwards who are interested in football and find futsal an exciting variation of the “beautiful game”.

The training of BLFRS staff as football coaches has allowed them to support various other soccer events involving young people in Bedfordshire and Luton.

BLFRS has a track record of supporting football teams and tournaments with a view to passing community fire safety messages on to children and their families and young people.

A major Faith Football tournament in Luton has twice resulted in a grand final at Luton Town FC with firefighters competing against a top squad of local soccer stars.

Firefighters also referee and run the line at a Nacro football tournament in Houghton Regis each year.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller said: “Promoting fitness among young people is something which our firefighters can do by example.

“We also believe that encouraging young people to play team sports is a good way of them learning to work together while enjoying themselves.

“At the same time we hope to get across some messages to them about home fire safety and taking care on the roads, particularly those who are teenage drivers.

“"The female futsal tournament is great for appealing to all those young women who are interested in football and fitness and who we want to encourage to become firefighters."

Kick off 3 pm - 6pm followed by presentation at Bedford Fire Station in Barker's Lane.
Organiser Matt Cross at BLFRS 07841 096972