example of the courage, commitment, determination,professionalism, training and teamwork of the modern day Fire& Rescue Service.

Crews remained at the scene all day with Community Safetyresources directed to the scene to assist with offering advice toworried neighbours. The following letter was received from therescued lady:

“Many many heartfelt thanks to all those involved, enablingme to be here today with my husband and family, when if itwasn’t for all your brave unselflessness I could well be dead.

“Words cannot express my gratitude to all you wonderfulpeople involved. When I was in the burns unit, no one reallyexpected me to survive and I was told if it had not had been foryour quick and heroic action in getting me to hospital as quicklyas you did, things would almost certainly have been verydifferent.

“From myself, my two daughters and husband – thank youso much”.

Crews from Green Watch Ellesmere Port havereceived a huge “thank you” from a lady and herfamily after she was rescued from her blazing

house in Elton.

Crews were mobilised by Control to a house fire andwere met with a fully developed and vented fire on theground floor with flames and smoke issuing from allopenings on the first floor consistent with a flashover.Crew Manager Stevie Rae gained information fromneighbours that the lady occupier was last seen at the frontbedroom window.

A Breathing Apparatus (BA) team was committed to thefirst floor from a 7 metre ladder through the bathroomwindow to carry out search and rescue while the secondBA team was committed to the ground floor to fight the fire.On several occasions the first BA team reported conditionsconsistent with that of a potential flashover.

The occupier was located by the first BA team andbrought downstairs to waiting crews who administeredimmediate first aid. She was then handed over to theAmbulance Service before being taken to the Countess ofChester Hospital. The Casualty was later transferred toWhiston Hospital for specialist treatment where initialindications were that she would not survive. Thankfully shedid, and is now on the long road to recovery.

Officer-in-Charge WM Russell Austin said “In sixteenyears this is the most serious house fire I have attended.For a rescue to be undertaken and the casualty be broughtout alive is exceptional and full praise must go to the firstBA team of Firefighters Jason Lyth and Lloyd Blower”.

There is no doubt that the actions of Green WatchEllesmere Port crews ably assisted by those of Chester andRuncorn enabled a family to see their Mother again.

FF Blower had only been in post for two months whichmakes the outcome all the more satisfying and an excellent

INSIDE

Honours& Awardsp10-11

Clean-upfor charityp17

Climbersscale theheightsp20

PLUS.. . WIN in our capt ion compet i t ion – page 16

June 2008

PRAISE FOR RESCUE

2

� Station Manager Paul Rice (Arson Reduction Manager) and DetectiveConstable Nigel Mills (Police Liaison Officer) pictured outside Headquartersafter hearing the news of the success

Arson team hits the targetsThe Service Arson Reduction Team is

celebrating achieving a key target forreducing arson.

A primary fire is any fire involving casualties or anyfire involving property including non-derelict vehicles.The national target is a 10% reduction over the eightyears from 1 April 2002 until 31 March 2010.

Cheshire’s target was 1,522 and by 31 March2008 there were 1022 actual deliberate primary fireswhich means the target has been achieved ahead ofschedule.

“We are delighted to have achieved and exceededthis target with two years left. It is a credit to theproactive work being undertaken across the Serviceand co-ordinated by the Arson Task ForceManagement Group” said Station Manager Paul Ricewho along with Detective Constable Nigel Mills arethe two members of the Arson Reduction Team.

The Arson Task Force Management Group ischaired by the Senior Managers from Community FireProtection, with representatives from each PDG areaand provides a means of focussing arson reductionactivity and performance.

While the Service has hit the deliberate primary fires target, furtherwork is needed to hit targets on reducing small, nuisance fires.

Finance team loses poundsAtotal of 11 teams from the

Service took part in the latestCheshire-wide Corporate

Health Initiative (CHI) with staff inFinance coming third overall.

The initial aim of CHI was promotinghealth and well-being to public sectorservice staff within Cheshire, extendingto their families, friends andcommunities in which they live.

The 2008 event was designed to bemore embracing of family and friendsand focussed on being lighter, thinner,healthier and fitter. Each participantwas also provided with a personnel

booklet to help them plan their weeklygoals and monitor progress.

Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service –had 11 teams involving 55 people andlost a total of 191 lbs (over 13 stone)and 30 inches from waistlines. Otherparticipants were from Cheshire CountyCouncil (48 teams), CheshireConstabulary (70 teams) and Countessof Chester Hospital (27 teams).

Cheshire Constabulary’s “FIBB” teamwon 1st prize, “Fat Girls Slim” fromCountess of Chester came second andcongratulations to our Finance teamwho were third with a respectable team

loss of 35 lbs. Around 175 peopleattended the presentation at CardenPark Hotel.

� Finance team with Deputy Chief Fire OfficerKathryn Foreman receiving their prize.

Safety work proves its worthFire crews attended a fire in a dishwasher in the early hours of themorning of Sunday 20 April 2008 at Greendale Drive in Middlewich.

According to the incident commander the fire in the property wascontained to the dishwasher, however other parts of the house weredamaged by black soot and smoke. The occupier was alerted to the fireby the sound of the smoke alarm which had been fitted in September lastyear by Advocates Willie Sarson and Emma Hudson. Clearly at that time ofthe morning there is a serious potential for loss of life if the occupier hadnot woken to find the fire. The incident is further evidence of the value ofthe Service’s HSA programme in saving lives and property.

� Willie Sarson and Emma Hudson

3

I am pleased to report that we have nowtaken the first practical steps onimplementing two of our key objectives inthe current Integrated Risk ManagementPlan / Corporate Plan.

Improving our resilience in the wake of theWarwickshire firefighter tragedies and preparingfor the impact of Local GovernmentReorganisation (LGR) in Cheshire are both majorissues in which we need to invest significantresources.

The new resilience unit in EmergencyResponse will be critical to ensuring we arerigorous in the training and assessment of ourfirefighters’ core operational skills.

New phased training with major exercises,the creation of a dedicated command training

facility at HQ and special training courses at theFire Service College for all supervisorymanagers are also vital parts of the project.

However, the restructure of the EmergencyResponse function is just as critical in helpingus face the new challenges following theelections to the new Cheshire councils.

Creating one department with directresponsibility for frontline services through fournew dedicated Unitary Performance Managersensures we can focus closely on improving ourown work and our relationships with keypartners.

While these positions are temporary initially,putting resources in place now means that wewill be able to fully play our part when the newauthorities are formally created next April.

in my view. . .

Steve

McGuirk

Agencies backriver exerciseGreen Watch in Chester recently

planned, co-ordinated anddelivered a multi-agency

exercise on the River Dee.

The aim was to test communicationswith other agencies, initiate theLanguage Line facility that the Servicehas access to, familiarize themselveswith the capabilities of the R.N.L.I.hovercraft and evaluate theeffectiveness of the Service’s pollutionbooms.

The scenario was an agriculturalaccident on the Duke of Westminster’sEstate resulting in a tractor driver being

thrown into the river and the tractorsubsequently spilling diesel from itsruptured fuel tank into the Dee.

This was a four pump incident withthe attendance of the Line Rescue Unitand DCU. Chester’s boat was also inattendance.

The R.N.L.I. attended with theirHovercraft and inflatable, and they weresupported by the Coastguard andMaritime Agency. The Exercise wasfilmed digitally by the Police Air SupportUnit who also provided an analoguedown link to a monitor that is availableto the fire ground for major incidents. (A

Digital copy isavailable fromChester Fire Stationfor trainingpurposes.)

Prior to theExercise,respondents to theRiver DeeEmergency planwere consulted.These included theCity Council,EmergencyPlanning, TheEnvironment Agencyand United Utilities.

Deaf advocatebecomesfirefighter forthe day

The Deaf Persons Advocate MelaniePitts has spent a day on the run withBlue Watch Widnes as part of a factfinding initiative to help get an insightinto the workings of the Watch and inturn for Melanie to tell firefightersabout her role and deaf awareness.

After a day on the run includingcarrying out Home Safety Assessments,Mel delivered a presentation about theDeaf Persons Advocate’s role in theService and answered questions aboutdeafness and sign language.

Mel would like to thank Blue WatchWidnes - Brian, Mark, Ian, Jem, Danny,Russ, Mickey, Pat and Anthony.

4

Double Recruits’ Course

The latest recruits course was completed at the end of March and all have now been transferred to Stations.

Back row L-R: FF Reuex, FF Taylor, FF O’Neil, FF Hurley, FF Wilkinson, FF Moore, WM Barnes, WM Jones, WM Lloyd, WM Wooley, WM Cross,FF Younger, FF Collier, FF Cleverley, FF Sneddon, FF Jackson, FF Moores. Front row L-R: FF Morris, FF Power, FF M Jones, FF Kershaw, FF RJones, WM Dunbar, WM Hill, WM Boswell, WM Caulfield, WM Bickerton, FF Baylay, FF M Jones, FF J Jones, FF Davies, FF Wightman.

New secondary control opens at Warrington fire stationFollowing the closure by Cheshire County Council of

the secondary Control Room ‘back-up’ system at theBeacons near Frodsham, a new secondary system

was commissioned at Warrington Fire Station.

Unexpected Evacuation!

Just days after the new control room was set up inFebruary, it was in action following an evacuation as the maincontrol at Winsford was affected by a serious situationaffecting all six mobilising positions and the main schemeradio. Every fire station was ordered to radio contact and theemergency back up radio equipment was quickly installedand the decision made to evacuate to the new secondarycontrol room.

When staff arrived at Warrington the control was ready forimmediate use, and within minutes began taking the first of 35emergency calls for that day.

Baptism of Fire

The main control was evacuated for a total of 25 days andduring this period a total of 1,470 incidents were processedand 1,176 fire appliances were mobilised to emergency calls.

Mobilising of resources was 100% successful and thesecondary Control, through its ‘Baptism of Fire’ has proven tobe very reliable. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service can beconfident that this facility will fulfil its statutory duties in theevent of a planned or unplanned evacuation of our mainControl room.

A summer road safety campaignhas been launched aimed atreducing the number of youngdrivers killed or seriously injured onthe roads of Crewe and Nantwich.

The four month campaign willattempt to identify young drivers whoare especially at risk, and to develop

better driver attitudes and roadbehaviour. Extra patrols using markedand unmarked cars will be operatingday and night on local roadshighlighted as being “Red Routes”where the numbers of serious injuriesand deaths is considered high.

Crewe road campaign

� Road Traffic Collision Reduction Manager for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service MartinDowle and PC Nigel Nicholas from Cheshire Police Eastern Area Road Policing Unit atthe launch of this years summer road safety initiative.

5

On course for Westminster

The Road Traffic Collisionreduction team went toPortcullis House, Westminster

recently to present the hard hitting‘Drive Survive’ course to a number ofMPs and other agencies including theDriving Standards Agency.

Each of the speakers from theService, Cheshire Constabulary, the

Highways Agency, North WestAmbulance Service, the Countess ofChester Hospital and mother DeniseRogers who tragically lost her son in aroad traffic collision gave a 30 minutepresentation about the course whichaims to:-

• Educate young drivers about driverbehaviour

• Show how their actions candrastically change lives

• Educate how in-car distractions caninfluence driver behaviour

• Reduce injuries and deaths of youngdrivers and their passengers

• Reduce speeding and other roadtraffic offences by young drivers

• Increase levels of confidence anddriving ability in young drivers

• Improve young peoples driving abilityand make them safer on the roads.

The main aim of taking the course toWestminster was to provide a platformto promote ‘Drive Survive’ as a nationalinitiative; to obtain funding to developthe course; to establish links with otheragencies and to enhance the profile ofthe course with a long term aim ofmaking ‘Drive Survive’ a nationalpackage for young drivers.

The ‘Drive Survive’ managementboard is also in consultation with theDriving Standards Agency to try toincorporate the course into drivereducation on a national level, via thedriving theory test.

� The Drive Survive team take the message to Westminster

Earlier this year the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership(CSRP) held a conference at Mere Golf and Country Clubaimed at young drivers.

Over 150 people attended and during the morning session,delegates received a number of presentations from thefollowing:-

• Robert Gifford, Executive Director of the ParliamentaryAdvisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS)

• Simon Christmas, Director of Research for SHM

• Steve Hoy, Chief Executive of Integrated Youth SupportServices

• Frank McKenna, Professor of Psychology

• Graham Feest, Secretary of AIRSO (Association ofIndustrial Road Safety Officers).

During the afternoon, the local road safety delivery groupsexplained their individual projects through a series ofPowerPoint presentations.

The CSRP has distributed nearly £40,000 to the local roadsafety delivery groups along with a locally based problemprofile so that the groups can target the young road users

most at risk of a collision. A variety of initiatives have beenlaunched and the results were shared at the conference.

Station Managers Phil Kilgour and Paul Watts talked aboutinitiatives being run in the Halton and Chester areas.

For more information about the conference, please visit theCSRP website - www.mysaferroads.org.uk

� Delegates at the conference

Focus on young drivers

6

Driver’s lucky escapeAwoman had a lucky escape when a tractor

drove over the bonnet of her car in a crashin Warrington town centre. The accident

happened at evening rush hour and Fire, Policeand Ambulance crews were quickly on scene.

The female driver was cut free by members ofGreen Watch Warrington and transported to hospitalsuffering from neck, back and wrist injuries. Thedriver of the tractor was also treated for abdominalpain.

Attending the scene, Watch Manager Tony O'Dwyersaid "On arrival we were faced with one femaletrapped in her car. She was assessed by paramedics,and due to the nature of her injuries, we had to carryout a roof removal to extricate her from the vehicle".

Hoax caller trapped by the webResidents in Runcorn were urged

to help track down a hoaxcaller recently who called

firefighters to a house fire where hesaid people were trapped inside.

The hoax call was received byControl Operators and the location wasgiven by the male caller as Falcons Wayin Runcorn.

As a precaution, three applianceswere sent to the incident under bluelight conditions where they found that

there was no fire. The same hoax callerthen called the Service again to mockControl Operators and a further twoabusive calls were made.

A copy of the hoax call wasbroadcast on the Service’s website totry and track down the offender and asa result a 14 year old was arrested.

Detective Constable Nigel Mills, theService’s Seconded Police liaisonofficer, said: “By making this call, thehoax caller put the lives of people in

Runcorn at risk because fire appliancesmay not have been available to respondto real emergencies.

“To help us identify the male caller,we encouraged people to listen to thehoax call and asked if anyonerecognised him to contact me or callCrimestoppers on 0800 555111anonymously. This was very successfuland a male was arrested as a result. Iwould like to thank everyone for theirassistance.”

Saddling up for cycle safetyCongleton Firefighters are working with youngsters to helpteach them to cycle to school in safety.

The initiative is focusing on 11 to 17-year-olds at CongletonHigh School, and is aimed at building confidence and explainingthe rules of the road. The programme will see young peoplebeing trained up to Level 2 of the National Standard, withcertificates and prizes being awarded. The scheme involvesCongleton Community Action Team, Cheshire Fire and RescueService and Community Wardens.

This project is aimed at educating the young people andbuilding their confidence to give them the skills to ride safely onthe roads, while also promoting the health benefits of cycling.

The course is divided into three sessions: off-road and on-road assessments; road safety and basic maintenance adviceprovided by Halfords and the Cycle Centre at Congleton FireStation and demonstrating a road traffic collision involving a carand a bicycle to drive the safely message home. The training iscarried out by a qualified cycle trainer, and the certificates andprizes are being provided by Congleton Community SafetyPartnership.

� Pupils with their “Cycle Safe” Certificates

7

Crewe Fire Station Open DayHundreds attended Crewe Fire

Station’s Open Day on 26thApril which was opened by the

deputy Mayors of Crewe andNantwich Borough Council,Councillor Margaret Martin. Severalvintage fire appliances including a1916 Shand Mason single cylinder fireengine and a 1955 Dennis F2 fireappliance were on display and manymodern day fire appliances were alsoon show.

Young children were entertained withfunfair rides, engine rides, face painting,bouncy castles and charity stalls with amemorabilia stall displaying oldfirefighting equipment and uniforms.

Fire safety advocates, fire servicevolunteers and firefighters educated thepublic giving them some useful firesafety information and a burnt out carwas on display with information toremind the public how to deterarsonists. The chip pan display unit alsopulled the crowds in when it showedhow devastating a chip pan fire can be.

Fire Cadets carried out a sponsoredladder climb for the charity CLIMBwhich helps children living with inherited

� CFRS Fire Authority member, Councillor Margaret Simon, enjoying herself at the open day

� Crewe fire cadets carrying out a pumpingdrill

� Preventing vehicle fires initiative withCrewe firefighters Alan Ollier and RyanYounger

metabolic diseases. They climbed the equivalentheight of Ben Nevis in two hours and during the day they also carried out pumping drills.

The day was very successful with over £750 raised, which will be donated to the Firefighters Charity and CLIMB.

Ian’s Historic action plan Watch Manager Ian Lloyd hasbeen integral in developing aplan to assist the ChesterMuseum in event of a fire.

This was following a four pumpexercise at the Museum with thelearning points that came outbeing there was no effectivestrategy for removing Paintings &Artefacts from the Museum in theevent of fire. Obviously speed is ofthe essence in protecting theseirreplaceable works of art so it wasimportant to solve this problem assoon as possible.

Ian worked along-side MuseumCurator Charles Quinn andtogether they devised a plan toenable Firefighters to identify theobjects in smoke as well as FireCrews being able to make speedyprogress to the rooms where theobjects are stored and quicklylocate the painting/artefact by useof a folder which easily shows theroute and where the said item ishung or displayed. It is hoped theproject will be run out to more ofCheshire’s historic sights in thenear future. � Ian Lloyd with Chester Museum’s Charles Quinn and

Michelle Green

Jeanette’s research awardJeanette Bate, Consultation & Communications Officer has recently been awarded an AdvancedCertificate in Market & Social Research Practice by the Market Research Society (MRS).

The Certificate has been developed by the Society to provide researchers and consultation officerswith a detailed grounding in the principles and techniques which underpin effective research. Jeanette(pictured left) said, “I am very grateful to the Service for supporting me and I know what I have learnt willbe of great benefit to me in my consultation role.”

8

Developing Asian business linksOfficers from The Community Fire Protection

Department attended a recent meeting of theChester Asian Council business group. Following a

welcome to all attendees by Station Manager LesSpencer, Station Manager Brian Touhy gave apresentation on the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Orderand Station Manager Paul Rice with DC Nigel Mills gave apresentation on Arson Prevention.

Both presentations were well received and generated a lotof discussion and questions from those present relating totheir responsibilities under the new legislation including theuse of an Arson prevention risk assessment. A questionnairewas distributed to gain further information on how beneficialthe group felt the information had been, further informationthey might require and how best we can engage with ethnicminority business groups in the future.

The attendance at this business group meeting byCommunity Fire Protection (CFP) staff is part of a service wideCFP initiative to engage with ethnic minority business groupsfollowing consultation and advice received from our Equalityand Diversity Officer Erin Fulton, highlighting the advantages

of engaging and providing information and assistance on firesafety.

� Members of Chester Asian Council meet with Community FireProtection

Wilmslow hosts civic guestsWilmslow Fire Station recently invited the Mayor andMayoress of Macclesfield to spend a day with Red Watch.

After being welcomed by Station Manager JohnMcDermott, the guests witnessed first hand the busy pace ofFire Service life as the crew headed for their first stop of theday, a Key Stage II fire safety lesson to the pupils of TheRyley’s Preparatory School in Alderley Edge.

When back at the station Red Watch exhibited theirtraining and skills with a pump and ladder drill on the yard.The Mayor Councillor Barry Burkhill and his consort Cllr MrsSusan Bidwell were then given a tour of the station, the fireappliance and its equipment.

In the afternoon the crew and their guests made their wayinto Wilmslow town to fulfil Home Safety Assessments.

WatchManager PhilMarke said “Itwas a pleasureto play host tothe Mayor andMayoress. Allparties enjoyedthe day and itproved veryinteresting tolearn moreabout eachothers roles”.

� Red Watch Wilmslow, SM John McDermott,The Mayor and Mayoress and the children ofThe Ryleys Preparatory School.

Hear by right in HaltonStaff in Halton have signed up to the “Hear by Right”(HbR) initiative - developed by the National Youth Agencyand Local Government Association to increase theparticipation of children and young people in the design,delivery and governance of services for them.

Halton BoroughCouncil has embracedthese set of standardsand has a three yearaction plan to includeall services in thisprocess. Due to theextensive amount ofpartnership work withHalton Youth Service,Cheshire Fire andRescue Service wasasked to sign andcommit to Halton’sHbR pledge. Bysigning the pledge weagree to;

• Nominate a champion for HbR within our organisation

• Complete a self assessment mapping tool andimprovement plan within 12 months of signing the pledge

• Include children and young people within the HbRprocess

• Open to inspection by a team of young people

• Share practice with others

• Open to new challenges around children and youngpeoples participation within CF&RS

� Hear By Right Pledge Certificate fromCllr Tom McInerney, Halton BoroughCouncil and the Chief Executive of theNational Youth Agency; Fiona Blackepresented to Nick Evans CF&RS LeadPractitioner.

9

Partnership protects tenants Awheelchair-bound man is now

living hazard-free thanks to anew fire safety partnership set

up between Halton Housing Trust andCheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

William Greenwood and his wife fromWidnes were found living in potentiallyhazardous conditions when a nurse fromHalton Borough Council’s IndependentLiving Team visited his home.

Following the visit, the nurse referredthe grandfather of four onto CheshireFire and Rescue Service, who carriedout a Home Safety Assessment on theproperty. During the assessment,Halton’s Community Fire safety

Advocates discovered Mr Greenwood’skitchen door would not shut properly,and the fire hazard was immediatelyreported to Halton Housing Trust’s repairteam. They also installed two smokealarms after a room by room riskassessment was carried out by Halton’sCommunity Fire Safety Advocates.

Since the assessment the Trust haspledged to fit a new kitchen door,making it safe, and have installed aCarbon Monoxide detector in the livingroom.

Nick Atkin, the Chief Executive ofHalton Housing Trust, said MrGreenwood’s case is a prime example

of successful partnership workingbetween Halton Housing Trust and theCheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Atkin added: “We are delightedthat the excellent partnership workingbetween Cheshire Fire and Rescueservice and Halton Housing Trust isworking so effectively and is helping tomake homes safer.

“Home visits are so important aswithout them, we wouldn’t have noticedthat Mr Greenwood needed a carbonmonoxide detector and gas safety issomething we take very seriously.”

Widnes joinsdiversity eventBlue Watch Widnes together with Station Manager

Phil Kilgour and former Group Manager Pete Howardwere invited to a celebration of diversity which took

place at the Stobart Stadium Widnes.

The 100 nations was a free event held by Halton BoroughCouncil that highlighted the services on offer for everycommunity within our area. The visitors enjoyed Chinese andIndian cuisine, which was complimented by cultural stalls,samba bands and traditional dancing from around the world.The event was tied into the Liverpool capital of culturecelebrations and attracted many people from various ethniccommunities. This was a great opportunity for Blue Watch toengage with our diverse communities.

� FF Russ Barrett, FF Jem King, English for Foreign Studentstutors from Halton Riverside college and FF Stuart Mackenziefrom Blue Watch Widnes

Cheshire’s USAR team were recently involved in a confined spaceexercise at the Merseyside academy training centre working alongside their team partners.

The team responded to a collapsed building with persons trapped invoids throughout. Technical search and rescue equipment was initiallyundertaken using specialist acoustic/seismic listening devices to locatetrapped persons. Once an area was detected as a possible casualtylocation, the confined space team vented the voids and used Zellweigergas detection devices to check the area was safe to enter.

The team was lowered by winches into the collapsed building toexplore the voids. The rescue team worked in the confined space to securethe casualty and extricated them on full body stretchers, manoeuvring thecasualty through the collapsed structure and into the safety of the USARsurface teams.

� Confined space and surface team lowering confined space team intocollapsed building.

Team Team trains in tight spaces

10

Bike project getsnational awardAteam from the Service received a top honour at the

Annual Sustainable Communities Award Ceremonyand gala dinner night at the Grosvenor House

Ballroom in London. This event recognises schemesdedicated to the themes of local environment, safercommunity, regeneration and community cohesion.

Nominated and short listed for the ‘Community YouthInitiative’ award was a team from Congleton, including CrewManager Ryan Swindells. The ‘Bike Safety Scheme’ ran acourse of eight classroom session at Congleton Fire Stationon motorcycle safety and maintenance followed by fourpractical motorcycle, quad-bike and buggy driving sessions atMickle Trafford.

Attending the award ceremony along with Ryan, were TimKingston Community Warden, Tony Bayman from Big X,Adam Davies Cheshire Police and Sean Whitehurst aparticipant in the scheme, who is now an apprenticemechanic. Also from Congleton Borough Council were CllrsDomleo and Thwaite, and Suzie Kelly, Anti-social BehaviourCo-ordinator. The scheme has had a positive effect withreductions in anti-social behaviour, while another participant is

now ‘pit boy’ for a BRR racing team.

Congleton PDG Manager Lyndon Loweth said; “It is thiskind of strong partnership working that makes a difference inthe community. It is excellent to see the partnershiprecognised at a high level nationally. Ryan Swindells has puta great deal of effort into ensuring the project was a success”.

On the night the Congleton Scheme came a close secondto the Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service.

� Photograph shows Suzie Kelly and Cllr Andrew Thwaite, MichelleWhitehurst parent of student Sean Whitehurst, Cllr Roland Domleoand Ryan Swindells.

Stockton Heath FirefightersGraham Green and Glenn Youngand representatives from Green

Watch in Warrington were recentlypresented with the Chief Fire Officer’sMeritorious Action Awards for actionsbeyond the call of duty at a recentceremony at Cranage Hall in HolmesChapel.

Graham and Glenn were members ofa crew from Stockton Heath who werecalled to a serious road traffic collisioninvolving a young male casualty on theslip road from the motorway at Lymm inJanuary 2007.

A twenty-year-old male was severelyinjured and released by fire crews fromhis vehicle. When he could finally bemoved to the awaiting ambulance, thetwo firefighters escorted the casualty tohospital assisting with the medical careon the way. The station manager whonominated Graham and Glenn for theChief Fire Officer’s Meritorious ActionAward said “I believe that the actions ofthese two firefighters were over and

above those expected during the normalcourse of their duties.”

Unfortunately despite the efforts ofall concerned, the driver later died fromhis injuries.

Firefighters from Warrington’s GreenWatch were called to a flat fire in OrfordLane late one night in January last yearand on route to the fire a furthermessage was receive to say that a manwas trapped in the premises. On arrivalcrews were faced with a seriousdeveloping fire on the first floor, withflames showing to a height of fourmetres with extremely thick black

smoke issuing from the rear of thebuilding. Crews were immediatelybriefed to enter the premises to searchfor the missing person but there was noobvious way to enter apart from anextremely limited external staircasewhile the windows were either boarded-up or fitted with metal bars.

When fire crews finally entered thepremises they reported that the thickblack smoke made visibility zero. Underdifficult conditions a search wasperformed and a 40 year old man waslocated and rescued.

� Representatives of Green Watch, StationManager Barry Williams, Crew ManagerMark Pollard and Acting Watch ManagerIan Foxcroft accepted the Chief FireOfficer’s Meritorious Action awardpresented by Cllr Tony Hooton.

� Graham and Glenn received their awardsfrom Chair of the Fire Authority Cllr TonyHooton.

Special event honours crews

11

For a public service organisationlike ours it is can be all too easyto overlook the occasions whenpeople go that extra mile to makea difference to the Service or totheir local community.

That’s why as Chair of the FireAuthority I am always delighted tosee our staff honoured andrewarded at awards ceremonies.

It is important that we take timeto step back from the day to daywork to properly recognise andreward people who have showndedication, commitment, loyalty andinnovation.

Our staff awards eveningprovides us with the idealopportunity to show how much wevalue the contribution made byemployees at all levels of theorganisation.

While acts of heroism byfirefighters always catch theimagination, some of the projectwork with local community groups isjust as inspiring as it can also savepeople’s lives.

For those receiving 20 year longservice and good conduct medals,the Service is vastly different to theorganisation they first joined – eventhough our fundamentalcommitment to protecting thecommunities we serve remainsunaltered.

As our organisation continues tomove forward, however, I am keento see the events which celebratethe achievements of our staffexpanded and developed.

from

The ChairLee receivestop nominationRetained Firefighter Lee Jackson based at Congleton Station, has beennominated for a national award. Lee works as a leisure centre manager atCongleton Leisure Centre.

He has been nominated for his care and commitment after helping a man fromhis car after a crash caused when the man suffered a massive stroke. He thenperformed cardio pulmonaryresuscitation with help fromanother member of thecentre's first aid team. Theincident happened in theautumn at the leisure centrecar park.

Lee is among threeCongleton Borough Councilemployees nominated for theCouncil Worker of the YearAwards. The awards ceremonytakes place at the LocalGovernment Association'sannual conference inBournemouth in July.

Good luck Lee!

� Pictured l to r: CM Keith Rowan, Rff Lee Jackson,WM John Griffiths and Keith Pick from CongletonFire Station.

Long Service awards presentedFifteen members of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service were recentlyrecognised for having completed 20 years exemplary service.

The firefighters were presented with their Long Service Good Conduct Medal byCheshire’s Lord Lieutenant William Bromley Davenport.

“These dedicated professionals are an example to the community. Thisachievement is worthy of special recognition and I am delighted to haveparticipated in this splendid event” said the Lord Lieutenant.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Paul Hancock added “This award recognises not onlythe dedication of the Officers involved but also the support and encouragementover the years of their loved ones”.

� Recipients were: Paul Bennett, Stockton Heath; Mitchell Clarke, Crewe; Peter Goodrum,Warrington; Craig Hadfield, Poynton; Steven Hamblett, Warrington; Neil Harrison, Chester;Andrew Hurst, Winsford; Ian Lloyd, Headquarters; Chris McHugh, Chester; AdrianMeredith, Holmes Chapel; Stephen Murphy form Control; Martin Round, Birchwood andPaul Sullivan, Winsford.

12

Warrington team in the newsWarrington’s Princes Trust Team 36 recently held

their presentation evening at WarringtonCollegiate. After twelve weeks of intensive work,

four weeks of raising funds and building an allotment onthe Longshaw street allotment site for people withspecific needs, the Team was presented with theircertificates by Collegiate Principal Mr P Halfren.

An audience of friends, family and well-wishers gathered atWarrington Colligate to congratulate theyoungsters for improving theirconfidence and skills.

During the 12-week Team personaldevelopment programme, the groupaged between 17 and 18 packedshopping bags at local supermarketMorrison’s to raise a whopping £800 totransform a rubbish strewn allotmentinto a garden for disabled people.

One of the Team, 17 year-oldNatasha Hankinson was filmed at thepresentation by Granada TV. She joinedthe programme in the hope that it couldimprove her confidence.

Natasha said: “I remained committedto the course for the whole 12 weeksand feel that I have become a moreconfident person who mixes better withothers. I can’t name even one thing thatI didn’t enjoy about this life changingexperience.”

Team Manager Lee Lappin said: “This Team excelled fromtheir very first day together and the standard of thepresentation showed how their skills and confidence havevastly improved over three months. We are now recruiting forthe next Warrington Team so anyone interested should call meon 0777 629 7881.”

For more information about The Prince’s Trust contact0800 842 842 or visit www.princes-trust.org.uk

� Back row - Team Members Stephanie Jackson, Haylie Ives, James Fletcher, NatashaHamilton, Chester University Student Adam Davis, Mr P Halfren Warrington CollegePrincipal and Pete Jones Assistant Team Leader Front Row - Lee Lappin ProjectManager, Councillor Hooton, Councillor High Sheriff of Cheshire Alistair Stoddart andDeputy Chief Fire Officer Kathryn Foreman.

New-look station for WidnesOn 18 April Widnes Fire

Station held an OpenDay when members

of the public and businesseswere encouraged to visit toStation to view therefurbishments.

The work was started inearly spring last year andchanged the use of somerooms and modernised othersto create a more up-to-dateworking environment andchanged the concept of thebuilding to one that meets theneeds of a community firestation.

The three appliance bayshave been reduce to two,enabling the third bay toaccommodate additionalstores and kit rooms. This

means existing store roomsin the main building havebeen released for use asstudy rooms and additionaloffices for support staff.

The community roomnow boasts a full interactiveeducational facility that islinked into e-learning, whichenables firefighters,advocates and support staffthe opportunity forcontinued development.

The feel of the station isa more welcoming workingenvironment. The cost ofthe modernisation,£180,000, was included andabsorbed into the annualbuilding maintenancebudget.

� Chief Fire Officer Steve McGuirk, Fire Authority Vice Chair RobPolhill, Fire Authority Chair Cllr Tony Hooton and Station ManagerPhil Kilgour at the official opening.

13

Chester team wins community awardThe Chester 37 Prince’s Trust

team have been given an awardfor ‘Outstanding Contribution to

the Community’ by the CheshireCounty Council ‘CelebratingAchievement’ Award panel.

They received their award for acommunity project they did as part oftheir Prince’s Trust programme havingraised £1200 and refurbished theChester Sea Cadets shower rooms.They also used the money to take theImpact Group (young adults withlearning disabilities) from Ellesmere Portaway to North Wales for three days.

The team were given their award bySir Ranulph Fiennes at Portal Golf andCountry Club at the ‘Every ChildMatters’ event.

� (L-R) Lee Lappin Chester Team Leader, Daniel Barlow Team Member, Sir Ranulph Fiennes,Melissa Hasenheit Team Member, James Shaughnessy Team Member.

The tools to tackle road safetyThe toolkit contains very useful presentations, leaflets, posters, DVDs

and user manuals, which can be used when planning and delivering roadsafety events and initiatives which will make planning and delivery easierfor all involved.

A DVD and briefing document is also currently being produced toprovide information on these toolkits to retained firefighters, and a shorttraining session will be planned for all retained stations to give informationabout the toolkit and answer any questions.

There are also plans to give all advocates training on the presentationsand initiatives contained in the toolkit over the next few months, followingwhich toolkits will be available to use at the Community Safety centresacross the county.

For more information about the toolkits, staff should contact CatherineHodgson on tel:- 07786 664904 or emailcatherine.hodgson@cheshirefire.gov.uk

� Catherine Hodgson showing the contents of thetoolkit to Winsford Firefighter Paul Cowin

A new road safety toolkit has recently been distributed to all whole-time and day crewed fire stations to helpoperational staff when they are delivering road safety initiatives across the county.

Action plan tackles roof riskCommunity Fire Protection OfficerPaul Hanby has had a major successworking with Dane Housing inCongleton.

An Impact Day Initiative in theVaudrey Crescent area of Congletonidentified several houses where thereare ‘common roof voids,’ which areessentially terraced buildings with onelong roof space containing no fire

separation. A fire in any of the housescould quickly spread via this space toother properties.

Congleton Firefighter James Grovesidentified from the Impact Day thepotential of fire spread in theseproperties in the Crescent.

Paul advised the Voids andContracts Manager at Dane Housing

on the potential fire risk, and gavepossible solutions. Dane Housing wasvery quick to respond and by themiddle of April work started on roofspaces with common voids. DaneHousing will be building fire separationinto those areas where possible andhanging fire screen curtaining in areaswhere it is not practical to buildpartitions.

IN BRIEFCOURT THANKSDear Mr McGuirk

I am writing to thank you for the swiftresponse your team made on twooccasions on the same day, 16 April,when the lift at Chester Civil JusticeCentre jammed, trapping my clerkand the Court Usher.

In particular, although it is invidiousto nominate individuals, I have heardthat Mr Paul Watts and Mr ChrisRodaway were both quick torespond, extremely efficient inrescuing the trapped and both werecourteous and kind.

May I, through you, thank them.Yours sincerelyJudge Sir Roderic Wood

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ON THE ROADTO SUCCESSThe annual Sandbach TransportFestival was held over the weekendof 19 and 20 April

It was a great success and there wasa fantastic turn out from CheshireFire and Rescue Service including:Chris and Sally Wardle and all theSandbach staff who organised ourinvolvement in the event; EddieEdwards and the ‘Vintage’ fire enginecrews; Pete Shields from Crewerepresenting the Fire Fighters Charity;Catherine Hodgson and Colin Heyesfrom the road safety unit and thehydraulic platform crew fromMacclesfield.

In January this year RESPECT courses were run out of Bollington, Congleton,Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield and Warrington with a total of 45 youngpeople successfully graduating in March.

At the graduations the young people told the audience how they had grown inconfidence, learnt about consequences of actions such as making hoax calls andabout the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

There are eight RESPECT teams, which have started in early May in Birchwood,Bollington, Chester, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Warrington and Winsford.The RESPECT course has gone from strength to strength and has a strongemphasis on partnership working. Agencies such as DISC and Phase have beeninvolved in educating the young people on the effects of taking drugs and theconsequences of binge drinking.

In addition to the RESPECT course the team is also involved in detached youthwork in partnership with Halton Youth Service on a project called ‘On the Streets’.For the past six months, the team has worked in Halton Lodge with young peopleaged between 13-19 to encourage and support them to create their own projectsand social activities within their community. Twelve young people also participatedin ‘On the Station’ for three days over the Easter Holidays at Runcorn Fire Station.The young people were involved in teambuilding and fire fighting activities and ineducational sessions on sexual health and young people’s rights.

The team have now finished working in this area, celebrating with an event atHalton Lodge Community Centre. Nick Evans, RESPECT Project Manager said: “Itwas great to celebrate the excellent work and achievements of our young people,many of whom actually helped to plan and deliver the event.”

Since the project started the number of deliberate small fires have reduced by50% and reports of anti-social behaviour have reduced by 35%, which indicatesthat when young people are actively engaged, then the whole community benefits.Before Halton Lodge the team worked in Ditton and established good relationshipswith the young people. Now 90 young people play football on a Friday from 6-8pm.There has been a 57% reduction in small fires and 39% reduction in crime due toanti-social behaviour. These figures are still holding since the team have withdrawnfrom the area.

If anyone is interested in coming along to see RESPECT in action, pleasecontact Nick Evans, Respect Project Manager 07776297802 or email:nick.evans@cheshirefire.gov.uk.

Increasing Respect improves safetyIncreasing Respect improves safety

� “On the Station” at Runcorn

Vintage and modern fire enginesattracting the crowds at the show.

15

Final pass out at Thorn CrossThe final Thorn Cross Cadet unit

held its presentation event witheight young men receiving their

certificates.

Watch Manager Ian Lloyd said “Thediversity of the structure of the coursewas very much prevalent and the rangeof offences committed was also broad,but it is fair to say that the courseproceeded without any major problems.The Cadet scheme has been run overthe last few years and has won anumber of awards over that period.”

Ian, who took charge of the finalintake, expressed his thanks to the FireAuthority for backing this project overthe last three years which has enabledthe Service to change the thinking andfuture aspirations of these young men.

He also thanked previous projectleaders, Andy Garner and Pete Jones,and all CFRS departments and FireStations who have assisted over thepast three years, especially Red WatchChester, SM Watts, Liz Fish from YouthEngagement and well as Nick Goughfrom Chester White Watch for his helpat the final pass out parade.

Thorn Cross Cadet unit were alsotreated to a visit to Congleton Fire

Station for a demonstration of the HighVolume Pumping unit. The visit raisedtheir awareness of ‘Special appliances’in the Cheshire area and the NewDimensions Programmeof which the High VolumePumping unit is part.

The event took placeat Astbury Mere with thekind permission of exCheshire Fire ServiceOfficer Geoff Hayes whoattended the event and ispresident of theStaffordshire AnglersClub who own the Mere.‘B’ Watch deployed theHydro Sub pumping unitplus 2 x 50 metre lengths

of 150mm hose and explained the manyapplications of the this versatileequipment. The Cadets were led byPete Jones and Ian Lloyd.

� The photographs show members of the Cadet course andthe Duke of Edinburgh Award practice walk.

Training plan looks ahead April saw the launch of the new Annual TrainingProgramme (ATP) which has been designed by CrewManager Simon Gildea from the Learning and DevelopmentCentre with major influences from Watch Manager PJackson (Blue Watch Runcorn), WM K Nicholson (WhiteWatch Ellesmere Port), WM C Rodaway (White WatchChester) and WM A Jones (Green Watch Chester).

The ATP has been designed to keep a firefightercompetent. There are four modules Firefighting, transport,HAZMAT and decontamination and special service calls.

The Work Place Assessment Team is now visiting stationson request to deliver PAS (Performance Assessment System)training, Personal Development Handbook advice andstandardisation plus orientation of the ATP. These sessionsare an opportunity to see all of the changes/updates to thePAS and to ensure that any questions/queries are resolved onthe entire package.

The aim is to provide training, help and advice on all of theabove. Each Watch will be looked at individually to tailor thetraining sessions with as much time provided as required.

The training provided will ensure standardisationthroughout the whole organisation; which in turn will provide ahigher standard of evidence.

If any watch requires this service please contact VickiAspell on 01606 868753 in LDC.

� Vicki Aspell delivering PAS training to MIC officers

16

Seven new recruits have been caught trainingon the drill yard at Macclesfield Fire Station -let’s hope they are well rehearsed in WaterRescue!

A pair of Canada Geese who annually visitMacclesfield Station’s pond hatched sevengoslings in the first week of May. The brood isthe biggest hatched in a number of years.

If you can come up with an amusing captionyou could win a meal for two at Cranage HallHotel, Holmes Chapel. Email your entries tocorporatecommunications@cheshirefire.gov.ukby July 14th.

Caption competition

Pupils paint safety postersThe annual primary school fire safety competitionwhich helps to raise fire safety amongst children washeld during the early part of this year in Crewe.

Children aged between 7 yrs and 11 yrs were askedto produce pieces of fine art with fire safety messages.The response was well received with many entries of ahigh standard with members of Blue Watch having thedifficult task of judging the entries. The overall winnerswere Gemma Thorley of Leighton Primary School andSophia Faddes of Oakefield Primary School.

The two winning entries displayed some excellent firesafety messages and creative artwork. Gemma hasbeen privileged with the title of this year’s Junior FireChief of Crewe and Sophia has been given the title ofJunior Deputy Fire Chief of Crewe.

Members of Blue Watch congratulated both girls,who received their certificates and medals fromCheshire Fire and Rescue Service Group ManagerRichard Gorst when they visited Crewe fire station.� Group Manager Richard Gorst with Crewe Admin Manager Bev Dyer and

the two competition winners Gemma Thorley and Sophia Faddes

Young painters pick up prizesYet another successful junior Painting Competition was held at HQ –this time it was the Easter Chicken to be decorated.

Over 40 entries were received with prizes going to winners and runners-up in three categories 0 to 5’s, 6 to 10’s and over 10’s. All entries receivedan Easter egg and over £20 was raised for The Fire Fighters Charity.

17

IN BRIEFHOUSINGPARTNERSSIGN UPThe Service recently attended thesigning of the protocol agreementwith Riverside Housing Associationto work in partnership on completingHome Safety Assessments for theirproperties in the Halton Area.Pictured are SM Phil Kilgour,Advocate Dave Petley and formerGM Alan Briggs with members ofRiverside Housing Associationpromoting Home Fire SafetyAssessments.

WEBSITETHANKSI just wanted to say congratulationson a great website – we have justbought a brand new narrow-boatwhich is moored on the Trent andMersey Canal near Northwich inCheshire and I have found yourinformation pages relating to boatsvery useful and informative.

Many thanks for all the excellentwork you do and for the help andguidance such sites give to thegeneral public.

Nigel HughesDeputy Chief ExecutiveBirkenhead YMCA

Stations cleanup for charityThe Fire Fighters Charity which was previously known as the Fire Services

National Benevolent Fund, (FSNBF) has recently received a cash injectionthanks to a series of fundraising initiatives undertaken by the Service

during March and April.

Firefighters from 13 stations – Nantwich, Chester, Birchwood, Wilmslow,Tarporley, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Stockton Heath, Ellesmere Port,Crewe, Knutsford and Middlewich washed numerous cars at their stations to notonly raise money for the fund but also to provide information on the ‘Your Grill CanKill’ campaign to all the drivers who attended.

The following is Chester’s account of the car wash day: “Chester’s White Watchwith Liz Parry and Catherine Wilson from the admin team embarked on the annualCharity Car Wash helped by lots of publicity on the local radio station.

Everyone rolled up there sleeves ready for the deluge of cars waiting to beexpertly cleaned by our slick “Grand Prix” style car wash, with many thanks to theFire Cadets who were in attendance with Peter Chadwick, who worked very hardsupporting the event.

The day was a great success, with teams cleaning about 50 cars, motorbikes andeven a toddler’s pram making in grand total of £293.00 in just 6 hours. EvenWelephant made an appearance to the amusement of our customers and membersof the public alike.”

At the end of March headquarters staff were invited to wear red shoes to workfor ‘Red Shoes Day’ as a fun way of raising money which raised £60.

Mark Cashin, Deputy Chief Fire Officer – Community Risk Reduction said, “Thecharity car washes were a great way to increase awareness of home safety and toalso raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity which has provided assistance toserving and retired firefighters for over 60 years. I am delighted that so manystations participated and would like to thank everyone involved in the charity carwashes or the Red Shoes Day as this funding is very welcome by The Fire FightersCharity.”

� White Watch busy washing the cars and Honorary WM Rodaway Jnr - little JoshuaRodaway in his best Fire kit !

18

ArrivalsNew starters

Claire FiddemanClaire is the Corporate Research Officer atSHQ – the role includes conductingresearch for members of staff. Previouslyclaire gained a Marketing Degree at theUniversity of Hertfordshire, before travellingin SE Asia.

Helen MartinHelen’s previous post was as EducationMaintenance Allowance Co-ordinator for SirJohn Deane’s College in Northwich. Shehas joined CFRS as a Human ResourcesAdvisor.

Jan EvansJan works at Chester Fire Station as aClerical Assistant. Previously she worked atScottish Power in a call centre.

Richard DalyRichard has filled the newly created positionof Events and Communications Coordinator.Previous he was Events Coordinator at theLiverpool Daily Post and Echo, organsing awide range of events from black tie dinnersto fashion shows and exhibitions.

Judith JenningsJudi has been appointed our Learning andDevelopment Manager based in theLearning and Development Centre at SHQ.She has spent over 20 years working inLearning and Organisational Developmentboth in the public and private sectors.

Ross BruntonRoss is our new ICT Technician based atHeadquarters. He has just relocated back toTarvin after working for the University ofWolverhampton’s IT Services department.

Paul McNeilPrior to his permanent appointment Paulhas been employed temporarily in theposition of Storekeeper Driver for over twoyears and prior to this worked in theengineering stores at Henkel in Winsford.

Fiona SmithFiona has joined us as a Fire ControlOperator based at SHQ. Fiona waspreviously employed by Cheshire Police for22 years in the role of CommunicationsOperator both at the former Chester HQ andthe new Winsford HQ.

Mike JonesMike has joined as a CommunicationsOfficer in the ICT Department. Previously heworked for four years for NEC Phillips andprior to that post worked for BT.

Steven BinnieSteve has joined the ICT Department as aNetwork Administrator. Previously he was aSenior Service Centre Technician for AtkinsGlobal.

Katie RileyKatie has joined us as the CorporateSupport Officer and previously worked forAstraZeneca in clinical development.

Danny BowenDanny has the honour of appearing twice inthis edition as he retired from the MICOfficers group on March 16 and began hisnew career as Community Safety Advocatebased in the Crewe area the next day.

FarewellsCM Ian Millar Widnes 1 Feb 2008 22 yrs 1 mth

FF Colin Singleton Stockton Heath 9 Mar 9 yrs 7 mths

FF Mathew Holliday Stockton Heath 23 Mar 7 yrs

Zoe Garland SHQ 19 Mar 4 yrs

Geraldine Krizanac Advocate 25 Mar 2 yrs 5 mths

Abigail Hayes PTT Chester 31 Mar 5 yrs 2 mths

Susie Byrne SHQ 31 Mar 3 yrs 6 mths

Sharon Goodhead Widnes 31 Mar 6 yrs 9 mths

Joe Allen Chester 18 April 3 yrs

Peter Morgan SHQ 2 May 19 yrs

Julie Savage SHQ 6 May 1 yr 4 mths

FF Paul Farrell Chester 28 May 10 yrs

Leavers

19

Farewells

WM Dave Hanley Crewe 27 March 2008 31 yrs

SM Danny Bowen MIC 16 March 30 yrs

FF Piotr Adamski Runcorn 8 March 28 yrs 9 mths

WM Philip Edwards Crewe 30 April 28 yrs

FF Isobel Sykes Audlem 1 May 18 yrs

SM Alan Briggs Widnes 7 May 30 yrs

SM Ian Murison SHQ 11 May 30 yrs 3 mths

FF Paul Glynn Widnes 12 May 30 yrs

GM Peter Howard SHQ 15 May 30 yrs

FF Chris Norman Congleton 29 May 29 yrs 9 mths

Retirements

Students receive Service insightFirefighters from Blue Watch Widnesinvited the Halton (Widnes)Vocational College to the Station togive the students an insight into acareer in the fire service.

The morning visit gave thefirefighters an opportunity to work withthe tutors and the students agedbetween 16-19 years who wereresearching career options. Their tutor

Cathy Tracy said, “This was abeneficial opportunity for our studentsto have a hands on experience,enabling them to talk to Firefightersand gain an understanding of careerprospects”.

Firefighters discussed issues suchas initial application forms through totraining and moving onto a station.

Fund backs sports projectsTeenagers who attend Winsford Youth Forum in Cheviot Square have received a boost as Cheshire Fire and RescueService have donated £1,200 from Vale Royal’s performance delivery group fund which has gone towards buying a pooltable, PlayStation and Wii games consoles to helpkeep the young people entertained.

The aim is to reduce anti-social behaviour in thearea by giving the teenagers a place to meet and talk.

Youth Forum co-ordinator Maggie Anderson said:“It has been a great success working together andproviding Winsford with positive activities for youngpeople on Friday and Saturday nights. We’re trying tocreate something for the young people in the town.”

Winsford Station Manager Matt Hopkins said: “Ithas been very positive and children who wouldn’tformally go to a youth club have been attracted to itand if you get enough young people then the olderones will come as well. The youth club has excellentfacilities and we’re committed to helping local people.”

Vale Royal Borough Council, the Police and WeaverValley Housing Trust have also contributed to the YouthForum.

� l-r the Youth Forum’s Ian Anderson, Advocate Barrie Green, Lesley Wood,Matt Hopkins, Maggie Anderson, Joyce Hawkins and Jackie Dawes

Advocates Adam Shaw and Sean McCormick gave a talk recently at CheshireCounty Council’s Macon House Day Centre in Crewe.

This was to a group of adults with learning difficulties from the Centre. The groupwas formed a year ago and is called the “Dreams & Themes” group. Adam and Seanpresented to them a fun and friendly message on fire safety and showed them whatthe Fire Service do in the community. The day went well and Adam and Sean havebeen invited to work with them again in the future.

Developing day centre links

� Members of the Dreams and Themes group with Advocates Adam Shaw and Sean McCormick

� Blue Watch showing the equipment on station to the students.

Wilmslow got off to a disastrous start tothis year’s 6-a-side football competitionin April after being led to the wrongvenue by captain Kev Grace!

Once at the right place, some earlywarm up shots clearing the perimeterfence did not do much to raise spirits(again captain Kev) then two goallessdraws against Runcorn Blue and Winsfordgot some early points on the board.

Wilmslow’s all-time leading scorer TonyMcCourt got things underway with a 1-0victory against Ellsemere Port then asound 3-0 victory against reigningchampions Crewe Blue saw the teamthrough to the semi-finals. A penaltyshootout was needed to settle this fixture. Goalkeeper Andy Burgess gave Englandmanager Fabio Capello a selection headache with his heroics and Tony Taylor putthe team through from the spot. Jason Roxburgh and Phil Marke got watchingPremier League scouts attention with five star performances in defence.

The final was an evenly fought affair against another Runcorn side and abrilliantly taken goal from Paul Mitten sealed the championship for Wilmslow.

A great day had by all, at a very well organised event.

20

� back row l to r – Tony Taylor, Phil Marke,Andy Burgess, Jason Roxburgh Frontrow l to r – Tony McCourt, Paul Mitten,Kevin Grace

Marathon successesFire Fighters from Red Watch Runcorn have been

pounding the streets in an effort to keep fit. WatchManager Mike Clark. Crew Manager Ade Brown

and Firefighters Nick Bryson and Richie Macmillan allcompeted in the Liverpool Half Marathon at Sefton Parkin March with great success.

Mike Clark said “The watch as a whole like to keep fitand use the station gym every lunch hour. In the past wehave completed The Three Peaks Challenge and have plansa-foot this summer to walk the full length of Hadrian’s Wallin 48 Hours. So this was a great warm up for the summerahead”.

All four members of the watch completed the halfmarathon in under 2 hours with a best time of 1h 47m 2s.

Caroline’s debutmarathonHeadquarter’s Caroline Jones stricttraining schedule paid off with herfirst ever marathon in London on April13 when she completed the race inthree hours thirteen minutes andseven seconds, an average of 7.22minutes per mile.

She was the 72nd woman to finish,and 2204 overallfrom a field ofover 34,000runners. She hasalso raised £700in sponsorship forformer firefighterVic Washby andwishes to thankall for theirgenerosity.

Wilmslow the winners

Four Firefighters from Birchwood Fire Station are attempting to climbMont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, toraise £10,000 in sponsorship for The Fire Fighters Charity. They are alsodoing numerous events such as The Great Manchester Run in fire kitand BA, bagpacks, and collections to raise the money.

One event they are holding is a ‘Sportsperson’s Dinner’ on the 26th Juneat the Village Hotel in Warrington, and are looking for as many firefighters,family and friends to come along as possible. Attending on the night is anex-professional footballer and a comedian providing the entertainment.There will also be a three-course meal.

For further details contact Matt Kindon Blue Watch, Birchwood Fire Station Mob: 07745634568Email: matthew.kindon@cheshirefire.gov.uk � Three of the ‘intrepid four’ training on Mt Snowdon

- Ray Molyneux, Matt Kindon, Matt Hancock.

Climbing for the Fire Fighters’ Charity