Young Fire Crews Learning The Drills
Issued by Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
Young people from Inverness Royal Academy have been finding out just what it’s like to be a member of the Fire Service. At a presentation ceremony held at Inverness Fire Station on Thursday, parents, carers, Fire Board members and teaching staff heard how they have learned just how members of the Fire Service operate and trained in teamwork skills including: hose drills; ladder drills; breathing apparatus and carrying out home fire safety checks. They have also benefited from non-fire related training including: Incident management at a road traffic collision. They also learned basic first aid skills, delivered by Cathie Way on behalf of the British Heart Foundation.
They also had a recent visit to the Airport Fire Station in Inverness and got a flavour of what actually happens when the Fire Service is called to an aircraft incident. James Miller and Phil Masheter from The Airport Fire Service were on hand to help. Airport Chief Fire Officer George Farquhar said "We are glad to have been invited to be part of the youth scheme. This should be the beginning of a new partnership for all of us”.
Members of both the retained and wholetime Fire Crews in Inverness are all delighted to have been involved in the course which is funded by The Big Lottery Fund. Watch Manager Fraser Taylor from Inverness Retained Unit was keen to sing the praises of the youth team. He spoke on behalf of the Instructors, saying “they have been delighted to participate with the kids, as they have seen them grow in confidence over the months. This has given our staff new found skills in working with young people and has extended our own personal development at the same time. Brian Ross, speaking on behalf of the instructors on the course added “We will miss them all, but hope to keep in touch through the close contact with the school”.
Highland Council officers Eilidh Gillies and Lyn Sanderson have been accompanying the team to the Fire Station each week and have been delighted to see how the young people have developed new skills and confidence. Inverness Royal Academy Rector, John Considine pointed out that he was delighted at how the young people had taken to the course and extended their new found skills and hoped that the school would be able to continue with the project in the future.
Highland Youth Convener Magnus Monahan came along to the graduation ceremony. He said: “I was very impressed by their display and clearly this project had been of great benefit to the young people.”
Councillor David Henderson of the Fire Board and advocate of positive youth engagement is in full support of the initiative. He was very encouraged by the positive attitudes and maturity shown by the young people and hopes that the programme will be made available again in the future.
Trevor Johnson, Assistant Chief Fire Officer from Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service, who presented the certificates to the young people, said “This work has allowed us to engage with young people in the community, particularly those who would benefit from the positive influence of our staff throughout the Highlands and Islands. By attending the course, it is hoped that the young people will gain new life skills such as team working and leadership as well as displaying positive behaviour. All too often these days, we hear about the negative side of what young people get up to, this type of course gives us the opportunity to promote the positive things that most of our young people in the Highlands are involved in”.
The course has been heralded as a huge success and has the full support of other agencies in the Highlands and Islands, including Education Services; Police and Social Work Services.
For further information, please contact Cathie Way, CRM Co-ordinator, Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service on 07942 800 800