Let's talk on Monday 24th January

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service is helping to host a series of “Let’s Talk Together” meetings aimed at the residents of Central Bedfordshire.

On January 24th a meeting will be held from 5 pm to 7 pm at Biggleswade Fire Station and on March 22nd at the same times at Toddington Fire Station.

BLFRS is committed to playing a role in partnership activities for the good of the community as a whole. It played a leading part in early Community Forums held in Mid Beds and is involved in many other similar activities across Bedfordshire and Luton with partners such as Beds Police and local councils.

Further information on the Let’s Talk Together meetings which go on throughout Jan, Feb and Mar can obtained via www.centraltogether.org.uk

Backing women behind the fire engine wheel

Beds and Luton Fire and Rescue Service - backing women behind the wheel

On 27th March 2011, The Fire Fighters Charity will visit Alconbury Airfield, near Huntingdon, Cambs to give women a once in a lifetime chance to drive a variety of large and unusual vehicles in the 'Ladies Driving Challenge'.

Participants will be able to try their hand at manoeuvring a range of different vehicles such as Fire Engines, 4x4's off road, Plant, Construction, Agricultural and even a Skid Pan spin - all thanks to organisations such as Asda, Donarbon, Alconbury Driving School, HE Services and Spartan Rescue.

Event Organiser, Laura Harden, said “The Ladies Driving Challenge promises to be an exciting day, with the chance to operate a fantastic collection of vehicles often only associated with male drivers. The Women-only Challenge is focused on handling vehicles with skill, enjoying a new experience, as well as raising money for a good cause.”

All women over the age of 17 with a full driving licence are welcome to join in during the morning or afternoon sessions. Registration costs £10 and entrants are asked to raise a minimum of £90 in sponsorship.

All proceeds from the event will go to The Fire Fighters Charity.

Laura explained, “Behind the fun, there is a very serious message that we are supporting a charity which helps injured fire fighters. The Fire Fighters Charity is the only charity dedicated to supporting firefighters and their families in times of need.”

To take part in the Ladies Driving Challenge, entrants should request a registration pack from Laura Harden on 01476 567750 or entrants can register on-line at: www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/ldc

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Notes to editors:

The Fire Fighters Charity - supports injured Firefighters through physical and emotional trauma.

Despite the best training, accidents and tragedies are sadly inevitable and The Fire Fighters Charity is here to support these brave men and women.

The Fire Fighters Charity has two therapy and two recuperation centres in the UK to provide physical and emotional rehabilitation to the Firefighters.

Over 17,000 beneficiaries are supported annually by the charity.

THE FIRE FIGHTERS CHARITY

Contact: Laura Harden - Regional Fund-raising Officer
T: 01476 567750 / 07798 725560
F: 01256 366599
E: lharden@firefighterscharity.org.uk
W: www.firefighterscharity.org.uk

Christmas rescues and aid for householders

Fire crews from Dunstable came to the rescue of people in a variety of ways over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

Shortly before 8 pm on December 26th they attended a house in Prince’s Street where burst pipes in the loft had flooded the whole house - and there was a foot of water in the basement - causing a danger of electrocution.

Crew Commander Richard Portlock and colleagues isolated the electric and water supplies and pumped 2,000 litres from the basement.

“When we arrived it was like it was raining indoors,” said CC Portlock.

Later that night they received a call from the police at 01.14 (27th) to rescue a man who had slipped 20 metres down Houghton Pit near French’s Avenue between Dunstable and Houghton Regis.

A firefighter using a rope and harness went down to check the man’s injuries, which appeared to be cuts and bruises, and then helped him clamber back up the slippery slope to waiting paramedics.

“He had been there for an hour so was very cold and because of the snow and ice had been unable to climb back up the bank unaided,” added CC Portlock.

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Issued on behalf of Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service by Manners PR Jacquie Manners 01234 326198

Cutting fire risks in flats and bedsits across county

Pic caption:
l-r (back row) Tim Birchall (BLFRS Service Training Manager) and Paul Fuller (BLFRS Fire Chief)
l-r (front row) David Adams (Luton Borough Council), Nick Costin (Central Bedfordshire Council), John Molyneux (Bedford Borough Council) and Tony Rogers (BLFRS)

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service (BLFRS) has been working closely with local authorities in Bedford, Luton and Central Bedfordshire, to improve fire safety standards in the rented residential accommodation sector and in particular 'Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) for 2011.

A formal agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed by all partners, following a presentation by Group Commander Tim Birchall who gave a breakdown of the common causes of HMOs fires and explained that by ensuring landlords comply with the relevant fire safety legislation, risks can be reduced significantly in the New Year.

BLFRS works closely with local authorities, housing associations and private landlords to ensure compliance with national fire safety standards. In addition BLFRS provides free home safety checks and will install a smoke alarm where needed. Detailed work to educate and encourage people to make sure their premises meet fire regulations led to the signing of the agreement.

Tim Birchall said: "I believe the work we have done here and continue to do is partnership working at its best and will help to save lives.”

BLFRS Fire Chief, Paul Fuller, added: "The risks of injury and loss of lives in HMOs - flats and bed sits and so on, are much greater for a variety of reasons. I congratulate my team on the work they have done here to reduce those risks to the people of Bedfordshire and Luton."

National Award brings 2010 to a happy conclusion for BLFRS

Pic captions: (1) Top team work together to reduce arson in schools

(2) Left to right signing document
standing left Det Supt David Quarmby Beds Police
seated Head of Resources, Performance and Commissioning William Clapp Luton Borough Council
centre Cllr David Sawyer, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services Bedford Borough Council
right Head of Capital Development Tim Chaple, Central Bedfordshire Council
standing right Deputy Chief Fire Officer Glen Ranger, Beds and Luton Fire and Rescue Service

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service (BLFRS) has won a national award for its ground breaking work in reducing school fires by 75%.

The Association of Building Engineers Fire Safety Awards 2010 acknowledges the work carried out by BLFRS in promoting the fitting of sprinklers in schools. In particular the judges praised the partnership work with the three unitary authorities who helped provide valuable data that led to BLFRS in conunction with Beds Police to assess the real risk of arson in schools. That activitiy resulted in the creation of the School Crime and Arson Risk Evaluation (SCARE) project and a Memorandum of Understanding supporting the installation of sprinklers in new schools.

Representatives of all the organisations involved were invited to an awards ceremony in London at the Docklands Hilton Hotel.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller said: “This is an excellent demonstration of how an effective partnership can deliver significant results.”

The lessons learnt during the project are being shared with Fire and Rescue Services across the UK.

Nationally there are more than 1,300 school fires every year - with 7-% of them being attributed to arson. These attacks and damage result in a huge cost in terms of the damage and distruption to schools and the wider community.

Beds Police Detective Sgt David Quamby said: "Since targeting those schools most at risk we have seen a significant fall in arson attacks and other reported crimes on school sites. We have worked closely with our colleagues in the Fire Service and local councils to improve security at schools and this has helped reduce theft, criminal damage and burglary there. The Police rely on the assistance of our partners and the community to help reduce crime and such partnership preventative work is always an excellent use of our resources."

Our well rehearsed crews deal expertly with high rise flat fire

Fire crews from Bedford and Kempston attended a flat fire at Beecham Court in Greyfriars Bedford in the early hours of 29th December 2010

Time of call was 00.57 and four fire engines, the Incident Command Unit and an aerial platform were despatched to what was reported as a fire in the bedroom of a flat on the 5th floor.

An woman occupant had left the flat and fire crews began firefighting immediately - but despite this the property was badly damaged by fire. Due to practised precautions conducted by the fire crews, no smoke or fire spread to other flats and there was no need to evacuate the other residents - instead they were told to stay safely indoors.

The flat below was water damaged, it is believed by the domestic supply during the incident.

Incident Commander Andy Draper said: "The management of the situation by fire crews meant that what could been a very serious incident was dealt with efficiently and effectively with the minimum of distruption to neighbours in the flat. Naturally many were awoken by the activity but were advised to stay in their own flats while we dealt with the situation. Only the gentleman in the flat below was inconvenienced by water coming through his ceiling, from what we think was the domestic water supply from the flat above."

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Santa's arriving on a fire engine !

Santa visits Fire Station

Dunstable Community Fire Station opened its doors and held a Christmas event for the local community which raised £464.34 for the Fire Fighters Charity.

Santa arrived on board a fire engine to help spread seasonal good cheer and fire safety messages to the audience.

Station staff member Sue Heckford, who co-ordinated the event, said: “I would to thank everyone involved. The event could not have happened without the team work in order to make it a successful event for the children and parents.”

Dunstable Community Fire Station is just that - a centre which can be used by the community for events, meetings and activities. Contact Sue in the New Year if you would like to know more on sue.heckford@bedsfire.com.

The event was staged on Sunday 12th December.