keeping cheshire fire and rescue service personnel ... · this includes 20 roadshow events,...

INSIDE

Phoenix project- Pg4

FirePride launch- Pg9

Spotlight PrimaryRESPECT - pg18

PLUSICT FEATURE

- CENTRE PAGES

Keeping Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Personnel Informed

October 2012

Gav carries theflame - pg21

The Service has launched its biggest everconsultation to get people’s views on its plans forthe future. The Fire Authority is now out to formal

consultation, which has been accredited by theConsultation Institute, on proposals set out in the draftIRMP 10 which sets out far-reaching plans to build morefire stations, keep the samenumber of fire engines butchange how they are crewed.

Staff are being encouraged tohave their say by logging on to theService’s Intranet and filling in theonline questionnaire. The formalconsultation runs until 17 December,with final decisions on the proposalsmade at the Fire Authority meetingon 13 February 2013 which will alsoset the budget and agree the Council Tax level for the 2013-14 financial year.

Public consultation

In addition to the staff consultation the Service has alsolaunched a comprehensive public and partner consultation.This includes 20 roadshow events, presentations to all townand parish councils directly affected by the proposals and amedia campaign raising the profile of the proposedchanges. This will include the Service’s Twitter andFacebook social media channels being used to highlight thedraft IRMP10.

The national Consultation Institute have given their sealof approval to the consultation as satisfying their principlesof best practice and they will also be involved in assessingthe final report.

For further information about the consultation [email protected]

See ‘In my view’ - page 3.

Share your views

n Chief Fire Officer, Paul Hancock, briefs the media about theService’s plans for the future

Runcorn’s Top Award

Congratulations to White Watch Runcorn who won Teamof the Year at the Fire Fighters Charity Spirit of FireAwards in London on October 19 - more in next issue.

2alert oct • 2012

The Service invited members of Crewe AlexandraFootball Club’s women’s squads for an insightinto what it takes to be a firefighter.

The over-18s ladies team paid a visit to CreweCommunity Fire Station to test their fitness against thatrequired of new recruits to the Service.

Crewe Station Manager Paul Binyon said: “Thesessions were a real success, the team’s competitive sidereally shone through as they took on our physicalrecruitment tests. We hope to invite the teams back inthe near future to continue to build links between the cluband the Service.”

A spokesperson for the football club said: “The ladiesfound the event at Crewe fire station really rewarding andengaging. They had the chance to measure their physicalcapabilities in a series of practical challenges and also wereable to develop social and mental skills through team workand problem solving challenges. This was a really wellorganised event where all of the team of Crewe Alex Ladieswere made to feel welcome by the team at the fire stationand began to develop a knowledge and understanding of therequirements needed to be involved with such a importantjob and career”

A kick in the rightdirection

The Service’s FireBike has been re-furbished with avibrant new colour scheme which has had a positiveimpact on our volunteer road safety motorcyclists andwith the bike riders they engage with across the County.

The intention is to use it to engage with motorcyclists,especially high-powered bike riders, in a bid to cut thenumbers being killed or seriously injured in road trafficcollisions.

Plans to further develop the Service’s motorcycle strategyinvolves a second motorcycle, which will include asponsorship deal with a local motorcycle company.

This also includes four new volunteer motorcycle riders todeliver our aims and objectives. The four new riders havenow been selected via an interview process. They are; StuartPickering (Widnes), Gareth Scott (Chester), Rob Kershaw(Chester) and Mark Coleman (Headquarters).

These new riders will, alongside existing membersRichard Gorst, Colin Heyes and Dave Hicks be proactivelypromoting the road safety message across the county assoon as they all complete their training.

On your bike

3 alertoct • 2012

I would like to encourage staff totake part in this year’s consultationaround our plans for the future. It isreally important that you share yourviews and help shape the Service.

The proposals involve changes forboth our staff and local communities. I amconvinced, however, that they will ensurewe can continue to improve the safety ofour communities in the future, despite themajor financial challenges we are facing.

Over the past seven years the numberof incidents attended by the Service hasdropped by over 40%, with significantreductions in house, business and rubbishfires.

At the same time, we have kept thesame number of firefighters, brought in

new specialist equipment such as rescueboats and midi fire engines and kept our24 fire stations.

The proposals will take a number ofyears to implement but Members of ourFire Authority – who are responsible formanaging the fire and rescue service onbehalf of local people – have said theirobjective is to work with staff and tradeunions to avoiding compulsoryredundancies.

I understand how changing the waywe work, even when know it will enable usto respond more effectively, is emotiveand that is why I would urge people toshare their views about what we areplanning by logging on to the Intranet.

in my view. . .

Paul Hancock

Warrington Wolves rugby club joined forces withBlue Watch to highlight water safety.

Wolves’ players Matty Blythe and Joel Monaghan took partin a photo shoot with the crew on the River Mersey. This wasused for a poster and press campaign warning people of thedangers of swimming in open water.

Watch Manager, Graham Davies said: “Every year we are called toincidents where people, particularly young people, get into difficulty aftertaking an impromptu dip in open water. Therefore we really wanted to doall we could to raise the profile of the dangers involved in this sort ofactivity. We were delighted that the Wolves got involved with thiscampaign – their reputation and local profile helped us get our messageto those who need to hear it.

Neil Kelly, Foundation Director of the Warrington Wolves CharitableFoundation added: “We were really keen to support this campaign andwould urge everyone to follow the advice from firefighters and take extracare around our waterways to avoid yet more tragic incidents.”

Blue Watch personnel involved were Firefighters Gary Stoll, PeteGoodrum, Jay Darling, Crew Manager Jonathan Hill with Watch ManagerGraham Davies acting as the casualty.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service would like to thank WarringtonWolves Rugby team for their help in flagging up this important safetyadvice.

Wolves take to the water

4alert oct • 2012

Widnes’ Green Watch has beensupporting local youngsters to getthe most from books and reading.

The reading initiative forms part of theWatch’s Phoenix Project which sees themworking closely with children at St BasilsCatholic primary school.

Following a successful bid to Halton’sUnitary Performance Group after consultationwith teachers at the school they were able tobuy two books for every Year one pupil. Theaim of the project is to encourage the childrento read at home with their families as well as inclass.

Watch Manager Paul Harrison andFirefighters Paul Speed and Dave Cross wentalong to the school to present the books to thechildren and took the opportunity to read someof the books to small groups.

Feedback from pupils, staff and parents hasall shown that the project is a great successwith further reading visits planned.

The funding bid also included children fromFarnworth C of E School in Widnes who were

Reading aspiration

n Watch Manager Paul Harrison and Firefighters Paul Speed and Dave Crosshanded out the “Ablaze” certificates to pupils at St Basil’s

Birchwood child safety weekThroughout child safety week all watches fromBirchwood were involved with the local community,promoting important safety messages and building linkswith local groups.

Leaflets were distributed to schools in the areahighlighting the dangers of playing in open water such aslakes and reservoirs and conducting talks on safety forchildren and their parents at the start of the school holidays.

Groups visiting the station included Woodland’s Children’sCentre, Meadow View Children’s Centre and ButterfliesChildren’s Centre. The safety messages involved car seats,seat belts and road safety with the majority of children visitingbeing under the age of four.

Advice was also given on the suitability of smoke alarmsand family escape planning.

presented with reading books as part of Red Watch’s initiative.

In the coming months the Watch will be visiting the school andinteracting with the children to find how they have enjoyed the books andto discuss what they have learned.

5 alertoct • 2012

IN BRIEFLIGHTAIRCRAFTCRASHWhite Watch Warrington attended alight aircraft incident when a planecrashed on take-off from theLancashire Aero Club strip in Croft.

Fortunately both the pilot andpassenger escaped with minorinjuries. The crew’s main tasks atthe incident was to isolate theelectrics and ensure the streamwhere the aircraft had crash-landedwas not contaminated with aviationfuel.

COLLEGEHEALTHYEVENTBirchwood firefighters attended theFrontas Healthy Community eventat Birchwood Sixth Form College.

This was organised to support thelocal community group’s networkand promote their organisation andactivities. It was well attended andthe Service was able to give outleaflets and discuss road safety andarson prevention with the students.

MUSICFESTIVALChester’s Red Watch attended theBrook St Music Festival which washosted by local radio station HeartFM.

During the visit crews gave firesafety advice to party goers andallowed children to have a lookaround the fire engines.

The festival included a jubileeparade featuring local musicians.

Firefighting inthe spotlightFifty-four Year 6 pupils from Farnworth C of E primary school were

invited to Widnes fire station to see how a fire station runs and learnsome of the skills needed to be a firefighter.

The day started with the pupils watching a training session which was asimulated road traffic collision where crews used equipment to remove the roof,rescuing one of the class teachers. During this session children watched intenselywhile it was explained to them the difficulties firefighters may face.

The children were then split into groups and visited different areas of thestation learning in the process about fire appliances, fire kit, knots and heightsafety and hose drills.

The children also had a classroom session to learn how the fire service works,about hoax calls, nuisance fires and their dangers. Red watch Widnes would liketo thank everyone involved in the day.

In a bid to save the Service moneyand to recycle corporate wear, WImembers had the bright idea ofliberating unwanted support staffuniform from bursting wardrobes.

A meeting room at Headquarterswas turned into a clothing co-operativeas staff brought in their items whichwere then available for people to takeaway to supplement their allocation.New trousers, skirts, blouses, shirtsand jackets were all available, alongwith second-hand clothing and rails ofnon-returnable items that hadpreviously been ordered and returnedto Logistics.

As well as being a great opportunityfor people to see first hand the range

and sizing of corporate wear available,Uniform Liberation Day saved theService almost £3700.

Staff uniform liberation day

6alert oct • 2012

A valuable insightRuncorn firefighters recently welcomed the Cheshire

Aspergers Parents Support group (chAPS) to theHeath Road fire station.

The visit was organised to give children with an autismspectrum condition including Aspergers Syndromeawareness of fire safety.

Firefighter Dickie Whitley who co-ordinated the visit said:“This was a really important visit for the children as it gavethem an opportunity to meet firefighters and find out what todo if they were ever caught up in an emergency.

“We welcome visits to our station as it is vitally importantthat everyone is fully aware of the dangers of fire and equally

important that firefighters understand the needs of everyonein our community.”

During the visit they were shown around a fire engine andparents dressed in fire kit. There was a demonstration as towhat might be seen at a real incident including flashing lightsand loud noises so that parents could reassure and removepotential anxiety if the children were to find themselvesinvolved in a real fire.

The visit also included refreshments in the Station’s bio-diversity community garden and fun on the traversing wall.

The Service’s Pink Fire Engine helped draw in thecrowds at a charity event in aid of the Angela GildeaMemorial Fund (Breast Care Unit Countess of ChesterHospital).

The event was organised by Watch Manager, SimonGildea and his family who have already raised a staggering£100,000 for his sister’s memorial fund.

Simon explained: “Angela passed away in January 2002from breast cancer at the age of 32. She was in the AirTraining Corps as a Pilot Officer, worked at a Chester schoolas well as working at the family pub. She helped so manypeople when she was alive and the money raised in hername is helping others.”

The celebration was a full day and evening event at TheShip Victory public house in Chester. Pink was the theme forthe day with pink firefighter helmets being sold with £60raised going to the Fire Fighters Charity and £1000 raised onthe day for the Memorial Fund.

Simon added: “I would just like to thank the Service for allthe help and support they gave in providing the pink fireengine – it was a real show stopper!

Over the years many members of the Service have beento events organised by the charity and supported it inreaching the £100,000 goal – I would like to thank you all.”

Angela’s fund reaches £100,000

n Simon modelling the pink firefighters helmets

7 alertoct • 2012

As Fire Authority Members wepride ourselves on making surewe invest in providing staff withthe best kit available.

Obviously the focus is onequipment and clothing which keepsfirefighters safe and ensures they arebest placed to protect and helppeople facing fires or otheremergencies.

But with the ever-increasingadvances in new technology, nomodern organisation can operateeffectively without fast and effectiveICT systems.

That’s why I am delighted to seethat the first phase of the FireAuthority’s £500,000 investment inthe ICT programme of change hasbeen implemented.

Providing a fast and resilientnetwork between all our stations andheadquarters should ensure routinetasks can be done quicker and moreefficiently – leaving more time for thejobs which really matter.

It also means that we can nowbring in new Service-wide systemswhich the previous network justcouldn’t have coped with. I knowprojects such as a new staffingsystem will make it far easier forpeople at all levels of theorganisation to manage effectively.

And with the Internet and socialmedia channels like Facebook andTwitter becoming ever moreimportant communication channels,it is essential that a modern andinnovative fire and rescue service likeours is able to take full advantage ofthe opportunities it offers to protectand engage with our localcommunities.

- see pages 12-13.

from

The Chair

Community Safety staffinvolved in managing youthinitiatives at the Service

welcomed a high profile visitor for aninsight into the work we do.

The team was visited by PaulOginsky who is an independent YouthAdvisor to the Prime Minister, DavidCameron and a leading figure in thegovernments National CitizenshipScheme.

During his visit he was presentedwith an outline of current schemes runby the Service and then went on todiscuss future plans and exploredissues involved with the NationalCitizenship scheme.

Paul will be a principal speaker atthe forthcoming CFOA (Chief FireOfficers Association) conference so hisbriefing on the wider role of the fire andrescue service in community youth andsafety initiatives was a timely one.

High profile visit

n l -r Youth engagement team Nick Evans, Susan Cleaver, Tamsen Cowen and KevinKelly meet with Paul Oginsky (centre).

A starring roleSandbach Fire Cadets along with thefirefighters and police officers took partin a filming day for an on-going roadsafety video project.

This was a huge success and as theroad traffic collision reconstruction wasstaged at the front of Sandbach FireStation. The filming attracted a largeamount of public attention.

Volunteers handed out seatbelt safetyliterature and wrist bands to the watchingmembers of the public which was fitting asthe video’s theme is the correct wearing ofseatbelts.

As well as providing the cadets afilming opportunity the event also provideda training opportunity for firefighters.

8alert oct • 2012

Do you have any comments or suggestions forfuture editions of the Alert? If so call the Service’sCorporate Communications team on 01606 868786or email [email protected]

BeAlert!

Firefighters from Runcorn Fire Station’s WhiteWatch are giving their legs a well-earned restafter pulling a vintage fire engine over 29 miles

to raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity andClaire House Hospice.

They set off from Runcorn Fire Station and aphenomenal 8 hours and 56 minutes later arrived atClaire House Hospice on the Wirral having pulled the5.5 ton vehicle through parts of Cheshire andMerseyside.

The Cheshire firefighters were assisted along theway by firefighters from Merseyside Fire and RescueService, Widnes Vikings and British Boxing ChampionTony Bellew along with Cheshire’s Chief and DeputyChief Fire Officer.

One of the main organisers of the event Crew ManagerGav Hanson said: “There was an unbelievable team spiritthroughout the day and despite the aches and pains wemanaged to overcome some of the longest inclines inCheshire and Merseyside. We have collected over £2000with more coming in.

“Over the course of the day we were constantlyastounded by the public’s generosity. To put it intoperspective we received £500 in notes alone and a

gentleman in Allerton actually put £100 in our collection tin!“The Fire Service personnel who came out from Merseysideon the day were also great, shaking tins and even giving us alittle ‘shove’ when we hit a big hill. Local heroes WidnesVikings joined the team for around an hour with BritishBoxing Champion Tony Bellew staying in the harness for overtwo hours. A massive thank you to them all.”

At the finish all concerned had a wonderfully warm andemotional welcome at Claire House.

Pulling together

Staff at Frodsham Fire Stationwelcomed members of The MercianRegiment during a charity trek.

Captain John Elms, Colour SergeantIan Wilson, Corporal Mark Toner andCorporal Shawn Mills were on their final

stop on a march from CatterickBarracks in Yorkshire to ChesterCathedral, a distance of 150miles in just four days.

They were accompanied bytheir support staff; CorporalRichie O’Connell, Staff SergeantMajor William Budworth andBilly Jones of Runcorn VetsAssociation.

The march is raising money for amemorial commemorating fallensoldiers from the battalion and TheSoldier’s Charity as the regimentprepares for another tour in Afghanistanlater this year. The Mercian Regiment

lost soldiers in Afghanistan includingCorporal Terry Webster of Chester,Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton ofRuncorn and Private Thomas Sephtonof Warrington.

The crew were very happy to offertheir support and it was particularlypoignant for Frodsham Firefighter SteveAtkin who was unable to return tooperational duties following an injurysustained in Afghanistan during a recallto the armed forces. You can givesupport to the march athttp://www.justgiving.com/mercianmarch22. The four walkers are pictured withFirefighters Lias Sadaoui and BenKirkpatrick.

Mercian Regiment visit Frodsham

9 alertoct • 2012

Prince’s Trust team 55 created a memorial garden atSt Thomas and All Saints Church in Ellesmere Portas part of the 12 week scheme run by the Service.

Their project was to tidy up the corner of the car park,enhancing the area and transforming the space into apeaceful memorial garden with a pathway and benches,making it somewhere picturesque and quiet to sit and relax.

They dug out and paved a pathway and raised the gardenfor Sunday school children to plant their favourite flowers.They added a centre piece by digging a large area thenputting log roll around. Final they added gravel and flowersto add to the beauty of the new garden.

Special thanks go to all members of the community fortheir help and support with extra thanks to Ann Pryor, theCharity Co-ordinator at Asda; Project Manager Andy Young,Bryn Jones, Neil Hancock and Nigel Parry from KeirConstruction; Travis Perkins and Bertha Foley and her teamfor providing the catering.

Team 55 consisted of Danny Choy, Connor Duckworth,Jordan Elwell, Katie Gittins, Oliver Goodwin, Matthew Hunter,Cindy Lloyd, Hayden Thomas, Marcus Turner, JohnCaldecott and Stefan Shuttleworth.

The Service’s LGBT network has a new name and visualidentity launched in a blaze of glory by Chief Fire OfficerPaul Hancock, former Fire Authority Chair Cllr DavidTopping and Member Champion for Diversity and ViceChair Cllr Stef Nelson.

They hosted a special breakfast event at Headquarters atwhich the new ‘Firepride’ logo was formally unveiled tonetwork members and supporters.

Paul told the network was an excellent example of TeamCheshire in action – a diverse group of individuals from

across the organisation coming together to make a realdifference.

The new identity has already been applied to intranetpages and eye-catching posters promoting Firepride’s aimswill be distributed across all stations in the coming weeks.

Thanks go once again to everyone who took part in thelogo competition and who voted during the final selectionprocess.

FirePride

A place to relax

10alert oct • 2012

Over 350 school pupils went to the Crewe heritagecentre to celebrate 175 years of the railways andlearn safety and citizenship skills from nine

different community agencies including our Service.

The day was planned and run by local teachers whoinvited a range of groups to teach the children.

Crewe fire station provided activities as well as the grandfinale of demonstrating how serious a traffic accident can be

by cutting up a crashed car.

One 9 year-old pupil Bethany from WistastonGreen said: “I liked all of the Heritage Centre butespecially the smoke tent. I learnt to always closeyour door if there is a fire outside your bedroom”.

Other agencies involved included BritishTransport Police, Cheshire Police, Virgin Academy,NHS and Tesco.

The Mayors of Cheshire East and Crewe visitedthe centre and declared the event an outstandingsuccess.

A school’s spokesperson said: “Schoolinspectors from OFSTED expect us to make sureour children are safe, wherever they are, so we areusing this excellent resource to teach safety and toalso celebrate 175 years of trains in Crewe”.

On track for safety

Orford youth centre open dayFirefighters from Warrington visited the Youth Centreopen day on Capesthorne Road in Orford.

Crews showed young people from the centre around thefire engine and answered questions on the appliance andtechnical fire fighting together with promoting key communitysafety messages.

Red Watch Firefighter Matt Hope event got a chance tohold an Olympic torch when the Centre was visited by torchbearer Jason El-Kaleh who volunteers on a regular basis withlocal disability groups.

The fire crews also got involved with the carnival includingholding birds of prey and the football competition. All whoattended enjoyed a good afternoon.

11 alertoct • 2012

Six young people from Macclesfield enjoyeda special graduation after finishing theService’s Respect programme.

The secondary school pupils graduated aftercompleting the 10 week course, which is aimed atyoung people aged between 13 and 16 who may beexperiencing difficulties in engaging with school ortheir peers as a result of low self-esteem or lack ofconfidence.

The syllabus was completed with help from allfour watches on the station over the 10 week periodand Blue Watch assisted the Respect team withtheir final demonstration and graduation ceremony.

Fire Authority members Cllr Dorothy Flude andCllr Bill Livesley both attended the graduation.

Cllr Livesley said: “As a Fire Authority Member Ifeel proud that we are investing in the future ofyoung people of Cheshire.”

Respectful graduation

n Pictured along with the successful candidates are Deputy Mayor CllrDorothy Flude with Fire Authority member Cllr Bill Livesley, courseinstructor Sean McCormick with PCSO Lisa Cash and Firefighter TonyPoynton and Crew Manager Rob Bailey

PartnersupportLocal homes provider Wulvern has pledged to

support the Prince’s Trust Crewe Team for a furtheryear providing essential funding to ensure youngpeople have opportunities to develop and gainemployment.

Wulvern’s Jan Melia, Regeneration Officer explained:“By working with the Trust we offer work experienceplacements and a business mentor. We also encourageour partners and contractors to support the Trust.”

A cheque presentation was made by Wulvern to ThePrince’s Trust Crewe Team at Crewe Alex Football Club.

Gorse covertfun dayBirchwood firefighters attended a charity fun day at

the Turf and Feather in Gorse Covert.

The event was organised to raise money for Alder HeyHospital and Macmillan Cancer Support. The crewattended to support the event, giving tours of theappliance and answering questions.

The well attended event included fairground rides, abarbecue and fundraising events throughout the day.

n Firefighters Matt Kindon and Paul Dillon with Tony Sullivanbehind the wheel and Warrington Wolves Rugby Mascot“Wolfie”

New networkThe Service’s existing network

was built on outdated technologywhich not only meant that thespeed of the system wasfrustratingly slow but that aproblem in one area could take thewhole network down.

Thanks to the major investmentby the Fire Authority, stations nowhave highly resilient fibre opticcables able to provide hi-speedbroadband while the network hasbeen configured to ensure one localproblem doesn’t cause knock-onproblems elsewhere.

“Installing the new network hasbeen a major project as it hasinvolved working with a range ofcontractors to dig up roads, pullthrough new cabling and install newconnection points at every station,”said Graham Foster, Head of ICT.

“The good news is that allstations now have a minimum

10MB speed compared with theprevious maximum of 2MB onwholetime stations and 1MB speedat on-call stations.

“In practical terms it means thata file which previously took sixminutes to send through to HQnow takes just six seconds, whileon-call pay sheets now scan in 30seconds instead of the 20 minutesthey used to take!”

New hardware has also beeninstalled to make sure data istransferred around the new networkas efficiently as possible, whileautomated monitoring identifiespotential issues in advance to limitproblems. There are alsoopportunities to expand thenetwork in the future to ensure itcan keep pace with increases intechnology and the needs of theService.

New computersUntil recently there was no

scheduled replacement programmefor desktop computers andlaptops. All hardware tended to bebought on an ad-hoc basis with noforward planning of what needed tobe replaced and when.

“We had a lot of very old andvery slow PCs around the Servicewhich combined with the slownetwork to cause real frustrationsfor users”, said Graham.

“We now have a PC and laptopreplacement programme with over100 machines swapped in 2011-12and the same planned each yeargoing forward. The new PCs andlaptops are quicker and moreresponsive and use less power.”

All computers have now beenupgraded to Windows 7 whilelaptops have been encrypted toreduce the risk of data loss, withfurther security improvementsincluding a system to monitor andcontrol the use of all USB devices.

New software systemsOver the last 12 months an in-

house team have been developinga new software programme aimedat linking together the range ofdifferent systems across the

Most people know that ICT is shorthand for InformationCommunications Technology – but in recent years there havebeen many less than complimentary suggestions as to what it

could stand for in Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service. With a painfully slownetwork, some computers worthy of a place in a museum andproblematic software systems, it is no surprise that ICT regularly toppedthe complaints league in the staff satisfaction surveys.

As a result, it was decided that a complete overhaul was required and theFire Authority backed an ambitious £500,000 plus programme to ensurethat the Service has a modern, secure and resilient ICT service. Whilethere is still plenty to do, this special feature highlights the progress todate, particularly the recent completion of the new network linking all thestations and headquarters together.

“Since the upgrade the perfo

has improved dramatically es

using the scan facility and do

learn-pro system or down loa

Richard Meadows, Audlem

ICT programme update

Service which hold key data.‘Firecore’ is a middleware

programme which is beingdeveloped in modules with theobjective of avoiding data having tobe entered more than once andensuring that it can then be easilyaccessed, regardless of where it isoriginally stored.

The first module has seen thereplacement of the Service’soutdated system for recording andmanaging records about thepotential risks facing firefighters atspecific premises.

“The module allows local editingand ownership of the informationand avoids the need for the data tobe manually uploaded. It alsoensures the MDTs on appliancesare updated within 24 hours of arecord being added or updated - atask which previously took days, oreven weeks,” added Graham.

New modules currently beingdeveloped include one to linkperformance data from differentsystems and another for managinghydrants which will automaticallyexport to MDTs and offer newrouting and mapping facilities. Improving business continuityOver the past 18 months work

has been going on to ensure theService’s IT systems can berecovered quickly and effectively inthe event of a major emergency.

All data is now replicated to adedicated disaster recovery centre

and systems can nowbe hosted at this centreas well as at HQ. Inaddition, all of thehardware and softwareused to host and run theService’s key email and databasesystems has been upgraded toreflect the latest technologicaldevelopments and best practice.

A new highly resilient platform fordata storage has also beenintroduced which is faster, hasmore scope for expansion and hasbetter security controls than theprevious one. Developing Control systemsSince the start of the year there

has been detailed work behind thescenes to ensure the Service’smobilising system was able toprovide 999 call handling andmobilising on behalf of Cumbria Fireand Rescue Service.

Since then, furtherdevelopments on the mobilisingsystem have seen the introductionof automatic vehicle locationsystems. In addition, therehave been

improvements to the mobile dataterminal systems (MDTs) on allappliances so they can send andreceive status messages at thepush of a button.

Next stepsThe completion of the new

network means that work can nowstart on key Service-wide systemssuch as the Gartan staffingprogramme. Other projects include:• Introducing Wi-Fi on all of the

Service’s fire stations • Developing a corporate gazeteer • Making changes to improve

customer service• Exploring further opportunities to

deliver and support ICT projectson behalf of Cumbria.

Warrington’s second pump on AVLS

rmance at Audlem station

specially noticeable when

ownloading video clips on the

ading large files”. WM

“The speed of the IT system is brilliant and saves

me so much time. It must be saving the service a

fortune”. WM Paul Brider, Holmes Chapel


Firefighters make a bigsplash at deaf awareness dayThe Service in partnership with Deafness

Support Network (DSN) hosted an eventrecently to highlight water safety to young

people.

The annual day saw firefighters, with the help ofinterpreters from the Cheshire-based charity DSN,hand out vital tips on water survival, which set thetheme for the jam-packed day. Held atHeadquarters in Winsford, the day was designed tohelp raise awareness of general water safetymessages and ensure that the young people knewthe potential dangers of swimming in open water.

The group took part in a range of fun teambuilding activities before being treated todemonstrations which included an imitation horsebeing rescued from mud. North West AmbulanceService was also on hand to offer advice. The groupof young people who were D/deaf or hard of hearingthemselves, or who have parents who are D/deaf orhard of hearing were then given key water safetymessages. They were also advised about how to spot anemergency and what to do to raise the alarm.

Richard Ost, Assistant Chief Fire Officer said: “The daywas a great success and we hope these young people willnever have to experience an emergency situation aroundwater. However, it is vital that they do know what to do toprotect themselves and their families if they do get intodanger.”

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and DSN jointly fund aDeaf Person’s Advocate, Melanie Pitts, who works with bothteams to ensure the safety of deaf people across Cheshire.Gill Reeder, Executive Operations of DSN said:

“These events are a great opportunity to show both deafpeople and the emergency services how to communicate insuch urgent and possibly life-threatening circumstances.These events really bring home how vital goodcommunication is in these situations.

“Cheshire Fire and Rescue sought our advice of how todeal with deaf people in emergencies and we’ve since foundthe relationship between the two organisations invaluable inensuring the safety of deaf people in Cheshire.”

Deafness Support Network is a charity to support thosepeople and their families who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Virtual safety roomsBlue Watch from Widnes met up with the VRMZ busat Bechers in Widnes.

This bus is a community vehicle that visits differentareas to offer various types of advice to young people.VRMZ stands for ‘Virtual Rooms’ and it gives the localyoung people the opportunity to watch educationalDVD’s and interact with the community staff, who are onhand to offer advice on subjects such as sexual health,anti social behaviour and drugs.

Firefighters met up with the bus to talk to the peopleon board to offer advice on fire safety and arson relatedissues.

n Firefighter Chris Cook showing the fire appliance


IN BRIEFPRIMARYRESPECTWarrington’s Green watch assistedour Youth Support Leader Anne-Marie Mounfield in organising aPrimary respect course withCinnamon Brow C of E primaryschool.

Firefighter’s Ian Barber and RichardHoward showed the childrenaround the engine and helped themto use the hose reels. The childrenalso took part in various teamexercises.

PENKETHCARNIVALA crew from Warrington attendedthe Penketh Carnival in Julyshowing members of the publicaround the fire engine andanswering related questions onfirefighting, safety and equipment.

Children from the area were able tosit in the fire engine and try onequipment including firefighterhelmets. Vital fire and road safetymessages were promoted andeveryone had an enjoyableafternoon.

SCHOOLFIRE VISITBirchwood firefighters recentlyvisited Gorse Covert Primary Schoolwhere the children had theopportunity to learn about firesafety, the role of the fire and rescueservice and had a chance to askany questions.

They then enjoyed a tour of the fireengine and had a go at squirtingwater from the hose reels.

Two Birchwood firefightersrecently joined an IncidentCommand course at the Fire

Service College at Moreton in Marshin Gloucester.

This was a busy weekend with afoam and LPG theory and practicalsession, followed by 13 differentincidents over the two day period.

The incidents had a varied rangefrom house fires, road traffic collisions,hazardous materials and even a shipfire.

The course gave crew and watchmanagers the opportunity to developskills in incident command by being incharge of some incidents and learningthrough the debriefs of other incidents.

The main benefit of the course wasthe opportunity to train with scenariosthat are too large to perform on station– including full size train carriages!

Back to college

Jubilee MedalCelebration

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service employees were delighted to receive aJubilee Medal to celebrate 60 years on the throne of monarch Queen Elizabeth.

The official medal was awarded to those in the Armed Forces and emergencyservices and to prison service personnel who completed five full calendar yearsservice on 6 February 2012. Former Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics,Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, said: “I hope the official medal will serve as amark of thanks to all those who give so much in the name of society and publicservice and I extend my congratulations to all the recipients.”

Chester’s Red Watch received their Jubilee Medalfrom Station Manager Barry Williams

L-r Firefighters Oxley, Pritchard and McHugh, Crew Managers Davies and Gildea,Firefighters Williams and Walters with Station Manager Williams, Firefighter Roberts andWatch Manager Perks


The Service made the most ofan overnight closure of the M56by carrying out a major training

exercise involving a multi-vehiclecollision involving chemicals.

A scenario was set up, whichinvolved a tanker carrying a potentiallyhazardous chemical that had crashedinto the central reservation and anumber of other vehicles.

Once the scene was set five firecrews, who knew nothing about whatthey would be facing, were called in todeal with the incident and rescue theactors and Service volunteers who wereplaying the part of casualties.

Terry McDermott, Cheshire Fire andRescue Service’s Head of Service said:“This was a fantastic opportunity toprovide our crews with a realistictraining scenario that would help

prepare them should something like thisever happen in real life.

“Our aim is to have crews trained tothe highest possible standards toensure they are able to safely andeffectively deal with emergencyincidents. This sort of mock exercisereally helps us prepare for majorincidents which thankfully are a rareoccurrence.”

Fire crews were joined on the nightby North West Ambulance Service’sHazardous Area Response Teams(HART) so that they could workalongside one another as they would ina real chemical emergency.

Terry added: “I would like to thankeveryone who helped make this

exercise such a success including theHighways Agency who gave us accessto the section of the motorway, NorbertDentressangle the company whoprovided the tanker and thosevolunteers who gave up their time toplay the role of casualties.”

Major exercise on M56

Firefighters attended the “Safety Afloat” event in Audlem tohighlight the need for safety on the waterways.

The day saw many different organisations demonstrate andpromote awareness and safety around water atOverwater Marina and firefighters from Audlem andChester fire stations put on an exercise using the waterrescue boat.

Rich Meadows, Watch Manager at Audlemsaid: “This was a great event in which to provide boatowners with vital safety information and highlight thedangers they face both on the water and in their boatsand narrow boats.

“Because of the remote locations where boats aresometimes moored, it is vital that owners know what todo in the event of a fire. Crews were able to giveadvice around means of escape and smoke alarms.”

Safety afloat


The Service is continuing to work positivelywith partners to resolve deliberate firesetting across Halton.

Staff worked with partners on a range ofinitiatives to try and bring down the number ofarson incidents in the area.

The culmination of all the interventions was amulti agency action day which took place involvingdirect engagement and distribution of deliberatefire, wheelie bin fires and crime stopper literature tothe community by Operational Fire Crews,Community Safety Staff and Volunteers, Police andPCSO’s.

In addition Simon Walker, Environmental ServiceManager and his colleagues from Halton BoroughCouncil and Halton Housing Trust also attended.

Statements and press releases were also issued and used by the local media to highlight the dangers associated with thissort of activity.

Arson action in Halton

Crewe’s bumper crop Firefighter Aidy Dunning has been leading the efforts to grow a variety ofveg in the raised beds at Crewe Fire Station’s Community Garden for thelast few months.

He recently enlisted the help of the Cadet Group to assist with harvesting thevegetables, which included brocolli, spring onions, potatoes and green beans.During the harvesting the cadets gained hands on gardening experience,learned about the benefits of growing your own veg and were given advice onhow to try it out at home.

n Aidy has done a brilliant job andthe vegetables have been agreat success


Anne-Marie Mounfield is a YouthSupport Leader working out ofCommunity Safety who has recentlycompleted her contract to organiseand deliver Primary Respectcourses in the Warrington unitaryarea.

Ann-Marie explains: “The course isan alternative education programmeoffering Year 5 and 6 pupils theopportunity to take part in fun,practical and positive activities thathelp to encourage communication andcitizenship skills. The five week courseinvolves practical sessions in schooland also at local fire stations.”

Funding was provided by theWarrington Partnership which allowedAnn-Marie to involve 27 schools with39 courses being delivered. One ofthe target areas that the children weremade aware of was the number ofsmall fires and nuisance calls.

Ann-Marie was aware of the hugescope of schools involved and wantedto thank people in the organisation fortheir support. She said: “Phil Kilgourand Paul Jackson supported the idealsof the course from the beginning andthe operational crews got involved andI hope enjoyed the experience asmuch as the children. It has been soworthwhile and the feedback from theschools has been so positive.”

Warrington’s Station Manager PaulJackson was full of praise for theprogramme: “The primary respectcourse has been a fantastic course foryoung children and has enabled manyyoung people to come onto anoperational fire station and grasp apart of their community they would nototherwise get to see.

“They have all seen first hand theworkings of a Station and got to meetthe firefighters who operate in theirpatch. This has developed respectand understanding of what publicservice entails and for a few of themthey will hopefully go away and thinktwice about getting involved in issuessuch as hoax calls and deliberate firesetting.

“I also know the program does a lotof work around the ‘Six Sense’campaign and this will haveheightened their knowledge andunderstanding relating to fire safetyand how to act in the case of a fire inthe home.”

Birchwood’s Station Manager PhilKilgour added: “The input I had bothon Station and at the celebration

assemblies suggest that all childrengot something out of the course. Myopinion is that every child I saw washappy to engage and had a great time.My son took part and I have discussedthe course with him and he enjoyedevery element, with his favourite beingthe gutter run, moon buggy buildingand looking around the fire station andappliances.”

Ann-Marie is now looking forwardto her next contract in Cheshire Eastwhich started in September. Sheconcludes: “If we can make the sameimpact in the area as we have inWarrington then the results will beworthwhile.”

INTHE

Youth Support LeaderAnne-Marie Mounfield

Fantastic weather, pulsating samba music and over 5000 visitors -Runcorn’s Blue Watch snapped up the opportunity to interact with thecommunity and promote road safety while attending Castlefields

annual Party in the Park event at the beginning of August.

The Watch set up two of the servicesdriving simulators to draw in the crowds,with new record times being clocked upby young and old alike and althoughcrashes in the game were harmless, thesafety message “Don’t drink and drive”and “Don’t be caught out while drinkingat barbecues over the summer” werenever lost by those having a go.

Each driver was given a special drinkaware glass that highlighted the unitscontained within different drinks alongwith an alcohol unit calculator suppliedby the drink aware website.

Although a serious message was being put across, it was a thoroughly fun dayout and even the Mayor of Halton Cllr Tom McInerney had time for a few laps ofthe virtual track, something he found much harder than he expected – with orwithout the ‘drunk vision goggles’.


THANKSMACC HOMESAFETY{We mistakenly called out crews todeal with what we thought was aroof fire. Their speed of responseand their efficient and courteoushandling of the alarm was a credit tothe Service. I would like to donatethe enclosed £50 to the firefighterscharity in appreciation for theirefforts on our behalf. The firefightersthen installed three smoke detectorsto keep our minds at rest. Thankyou.|

SCOUTBUILDING{I want to pass on so much thanksto both Chester and Deeside FireService for what they did over theweekend. I am the Group ScoutLeader at Saltney Ferry where a firedevastated our building in the earlyhours of Saturday. It was a verydifficult time for me, but the workboth units put in was outstanding.When told where equipment was youdid your best to avoid it and left ourmost important storeroom relativelyuntouched. I could not praise youboth any higher and our entire groupwould like to thank you all!|Group Scout Leader

OH NO! NOICE CREAM{Just a quick note to say thank youvery much for such a super openday at Macclesfield fire station at theweekend. I sat in a nee nah,dressed up like a firefighter, saw aman being cut out of a crashed car,entered a drawing competition andsaw a flying horse.

My mummy enjoyed it too but was abit sad because the ice cream hadrun out by the time we arrived! Ican’t wait for your next open day.Please will you say a big ‘thank you’to all the firefighters who were sonice to me on the day.|Sebastian, aged 3

Party in the park

n Mayor of Halton Cllr Tom McInerneyimpressing the audience with hisdriving skills

Anti-crime tri-signs for Ellesmere PortA tri-lateral partnership of CheshireFire and Rescue Service, CheshirePolice and Cheshire West andChester Council has brought highimpact Tri-Signs to deliver anti-crimemessages to Ellesmere Port.

The Tri-Sign is a three-sided visualdisplay designed to give a high visibilityimpact to the community regardinglocalised issues to help prevent crimethat can affect local neighbourhoods.

Watch Manager Keith Forshawexplained: “The Tri-Sign has beendesigned to enable partnership

agencies to deliver messages toidentified areas. This joint initiativemaximises community engagementand provides residents with vitalinformation regarding communitysafety.”

A total of 50 signs have beencommissioned in a consolidatedpartnership approach to raiseawareness and engage with localcommunities which are affected byanti-social behaviour, arson and vehiclecrime.


University of thethird age visitBlue Watch played host to the Macclesfield Rural Branch

of the University of the Third Age.

The group is a self-help organisation for retired people, who hadseen an article in the Cheshire East newsletter on the new trainingfacility at Macclesfield Fire Station and were interested in seeinghow it worked.

The group also had a tour of the station and appliances andhad fire safety information from the watch.

They subsequently wrote a letter of thanks and kindly made adonation to The Fire Fighters Charity.

Group leader Margaret Hallworth said: “Blue Watch did usproud – we had a great time. They were welcoming and friendlyand answered the many questions we asked openly and honestly.We left with a greater knowledge of the work and difficulties faced but are reassured that should we need help we are in safehands”.

M6 event boosts safety messageCheshire Fire and Rescue Service recently spearheadedone of the country’s biggest ever road safety awarenessdays with firefighters and safety advocates from a rangeof partners in position on motorways and major routesfrom Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Armed with the latest intelligence on road deaths andinjuries, their message to motorists was clear anduncompromising: keep your distance and reduce yourspeed.

According to the Department of Transport there were morethan 222,000 reported casualties on the roads in 2009,including 2,222 deaths. Speed was a factor in more than aquarter of those fatalities and four out of five accidentsinvolved driver or rider error or delayed reaction.

“Locally we had 42 deaths on our roads and more than4,700 injuries that year,” explained Martin Dowle, RoadSafety Manager for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

“Compare that to the one fire death and 37 fire-relatedinjuries in the same period and it’s plain to see why road

safety is now as high on our agenda as fire prevention in thehome.

“Fatalities have fallen in recent years as a result of extensivework with partners, but still too many people are dying on ourroads. As professionals committed to saving life – not merelyextracting its remains from smashed up vehicles – that’s asituation we cannot accept.”

During the event many operational crews and safetyadvocates set up stall at major motorway service areas, retailparks and city centres and out of town shopping areas.

Across the country nearly 3,000 people were questionedabout their driving habits with nearly 50% saying they werelikely to change the way they drive as a result of theinformation and advice they had received.


Congleton 45ers GolfTour 2012Congleton 45ers annual golf tour, comprising ofgolfers from Congleton, Chester and retiredfirefighters took them across country to Lincolnshirefor four days golfing.

They started off playing 18 holes at South Kyme, alovely course but also a testing one as the scores showed.Micky Spruce led the leader board closely followed by Bill“The Cube” Bennett and Paul “Pops” Gardner. Day twotook them off to Boston, a more open course whichreflected in the days play. After 36 holes, the leaderboard was hotting up with Micky being left out by KeithPick who nipped to the top with Steve Roberts, JohnGriffiths and Jim Groves hot in pursuit. The next day was36 holes at Boston West, a beautiful course but punishing if off line. Finally class showed through in the end and MickySpruce was a deserved winner even though he was playing off three at this stage.

On the last day the 45ers had a match play team event, but even though Tam Blair fought through his broken body tobeat Micky unfortunately the rest of his team never showed the same spirit and the B team won in the end. There were manymemorable moments (not all on the golf courses) which all added up to a great four days golfing and socialising which the45ers hope can be repeated next year.

z

Runcorn firefightercarries the flameRuncorn Fire Station’s White Watch Crew Manager Gavin Hansonwas one of the 8,000 Olympic Torchbearers and one of only a fewlucky enough to carry the torch through their hometown.

Firefighter Gav, a dad of three and a prolific fundraiser proudly carriedthe Olympic flame through Runcorn.

Over the past two years he has cajoled his Watch to run twomarathons in two days carrying firemen’s ladders and to train andcompete in a charity boxing match against Cheshire Police. Theseinitiatives have raised in excess of £18,000 for Help 4 Heroes and The FireFighters Charity.

This year the Watch did a fire engine pull from Runcorn Fire Station toClaire House Hospice on the Wirral (see page 8), and arranged anevening of Sinatra Swing in Runcorn. The charities benefiting from theseevents are Claire House Children’s Hospice and Fire Fighters Charity.

Gavin said at the time of the torch run: “I am immensely proud of beinggranted the honour of carrying the Olympic flame through Runcorn. I’mcommitted, through my work as a firefighter to building strong linksthroughout the Halton community and am also passionate aboutfundraising for charities - believing that you should do for others what youwould wish them to do for you.”

n l – r Bill Bennett, Jay Heaney, Steve Roberts, Keith Pick, Jim Groves,Micky Spruce, Neil Evans, John Griffiths, Tam Blair, Paul Gardner andPaul Hanby


ArrivalsNew startersPAT GALLAGHER Pat has joined us as a Crew Manager onRed Watch in the Control room. Sherecently transferred from Cumbria Fireand Rescue Service where she workedfor 18 years.

RACHEL KEMPTON Rachel is the new Customer ServicesAssistant based at Headquarters and isoften found staffing the reception desk.Prior to joining us she was a receptionistfor an interior design company inBirchwood.

LIZ JOHNSTON Liz has joined us as a Crew Manager onBlue Watch. She transferred fromCumbria Fire and Rescue Service whereshe had worked for 25 years.

FIREFIGHTER SIMON ATKINSON Simon is an on-call firefighter based inMiddlewich. He also works as CustomerServices Manager for a bookmakerswhich is based in the Greater Manchesterarea.

Farewells

CM Christopher Ryan Wilmslow 14 June 6 yrs 1 mths

FF Andrew Remelie Tarporley 1 July 9 yrs

Andrew Milligan SHQ 2 July 2 yrs 4 mths

Marie Lingard Knutsford 17 July 3 yrs

Julie Richards Warrington 31 July 33 yrs 5 mths

Sandra Oldfield Chester 15 Aug 2 yrs 3 mths

Judi Boardman SHQ 16 Aug 11 yrs

FF Josh Spence Wilmslow 29 Aug 3 yrs

Sharon Roberts SHQ 31 Aug 2 yrs 11 mths

FF Martyn Davies Crewe 7 Sept 4 yrs 7 mths

FF Lorna Smith Macclesfield 20 Sept 5 yrs 5 mths

Leavers

FF Stephen Seager Congleton 23 Aug 28 yrs 1 mths

WM Brian Ellis SHQ 17 Sept 31 yrs 2 mths

SM Kevin Massey Warrington 26 Sept 30 yrs

FF Andy Spencer Chester 27 Sept 30 yrs

WM Tim Robinson Runcorn 27 Sept 30 yrs

GM Lyndon Loweth SHQ 5 Oct 30 yrs

SM Philip Minchew Chester 6 Oct 30 yrs 9 mths

Retirements

Nantwich help atmidnight walkNantwich fire station provided a much needed comfort break for some ofthe 1100 women walking the annual Midnight Walk in aid of St Luke’sHospice.

The pink fire engine guided the walkers to a rest area where refreshmentsand comfort facilities were provided.

Jane Thompson, St Luke’s Head of Event Management said:”I just wantedto say a big ‘thank you’ for all your support you gave us on the Midnight Walk.The ladies were mighty impressed that you wanted to be involved. I got lots ofpositive feedback from my team and also from my daughter and their friendswho were walking. She was very impressed with the pink engine and said shesaw lots of women actually resting at the station.

“I hope you enjoyed being involved and that you will feel proud to know thatyou helped to save us money”.

n The woman resting at the comfort stop andmember of the Fire Authority Cllr GillianMerry with family members taking advantageof the break at the fire station with WatchManager Chris Mannix


Birchwood toBuckingham PalaceOn-call firefighters from Birchwood did a sponsored row as part ofBirchwood Shopping Centre’s Jubilee celibrations.

The Birchwood crew managed to row equivalent of the distance betweenBirchwood Fire Station and Buckingham Palace. Some of the distance wasrowed in fire kit and 15 miles were completed by the Station Manager Phil Kilgoursporting a new hair style! The total distance was 205 miles.

Support was also given on the day by Warrington’s Green Watch who turnedup and completed a quick 25 miles, as well as Stockton Heath’s B shift whocontributed another 10 miles. Over the day the team raised over £470 which wasdivided between The Fire Fighters Charity and Claire House Children’s Hospice.

Birchwood would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all their supporters.

At the Cheshire show, there was areconstruction by Nantwichfirefighters of the previous day’shorsing around, (see above).

This edition’s competition is providean amusing caption and forward [email protected] byNovember 19.

The chosen winner will receive £25worth of high street vouchers of theirchoice.

COMPETITION

ON • COMPETITION

Why the long face!Firefighters including specialist crews were mobilised to a

report of a horse trapped on the first floor of a two-storey out building at a farm in Spurstow.

The adventurous animal had decided to take a look aroundand had charged up a narrow staircase. After trying to coax thehorse back down the stairs, ‘Plan B’ was put into operation.

The vet who was in attendance fully sedated the animal and itwas removed via a controlled lowering down the staircase. Thehorse was removed to the middle of a field to allow it to recover,being monitored at all times by the vet.

Mobile Incident Commander Keith Roughley praised the crews.He said: “Could I please put on record my gratitude for the effortsof all the crews during the incident.

“Rescuing a sedated 500kg horse from the first floor of barn with awooden floor and a less than substantial staircase proved to besomewhat challenging. Some difficult decisions had to be made and a lotof effort was put in by all who attended.”

In a letter to the Station the horse’s owner added: “To all the firefighterswho helped rescue my horse I would like to say a BIG thank you for yourhelp in getting him down from the top of the barn. He is recovering. Idon’t know yet how much damage he has done, but I know he’s lucky tobe alive. Many thanks.”


Sport & Welfare

SPORT & WELFARE • SPORT & WELFARE • SPORT &

Gallanteffort justfalls shortCheshire Fire and Rescue Golf Teamentered the National Fire ServiceCharity event at Telford at the end ofJuly.

The team which comprised of KevGrace (Wilmslow), Steve McCormick(Northwich), Ritchie Moores (Congleton)and Ronnie Moore (Northwich) entered thecompetition with high hopes following agood showing at the recent golf event atWilmslow.

A strong performance by Ritchie andSteve was knocked back as unfortunatelyKev and Ronnie struggled on the links onthe first day. Cheshire’s team was placedthirteenth at the half way stage. SteveMcCormick gained a prize for nearest thepin on the seventh and further prizes weregained by Kev and Ritchie later in the day.

Ronnie had to set out next day torestore the balance and to his credit henearly made it, posting 39pts and was thesecond highest scorer, being pipped to theprize by a solitary point.

Due to the better average on day two,the Cheshire team rose up the leaderboardto the lofty heights of sixth on 189 pts.The eventual winners were London FireService with 200pts, beating Shropshire ona card play-off.

Well done to the team and good luck toSte and Ronnie who will representCheshire at the National Singles event inGuildford, Surrey.

Crewe Fire Station wasat the centre of theaction when theOlympic Torch camethrough the town.

A Bronze CommandCentre at the Station wasestablished for the co-ordination of the relay. Thecontrol room had links tothe Silver Command Centre and all agencies could access networks to ensurethat information was fed out as it occurred, such as Cheshire EastCommunications department being able to ‘tweet’ during the event. CheshireEast council, Police, Ambulance Service, Highways Agency, Red Cross andCFRS volunteer co-ordinators were all facilitated on the day.

The volunteers began arriving at 6am and were marshalled by the co-ordinators who did a fantastic job with special mention to Lorraine Page whoturned out an hour early to assist in the preparation.

Volunteers who signed up including Gavin Hughes, a Post Fire Support Teamvolunteer who helped out as one of the stewards for the council. The fire station

also providedsanctuary to pupilsfrom ElworthPrimary Schoolwho got caught upin the rain.

Olympic torchcomes to Crewe

White Ribbon Baton Members of the North West Bikers Club roaredthrough the west of the county as theyescorted the ‘White Ribbon Baton’ throughCheshire West and Chester.

The event was part of a nationwide relay, whichsaw the baton travel the length and breadth of thecountry before ending its relay in London in timefor the Olympic opening ceremony, with the aim ofraising awareness about violence against women.

The bikers visited Chester Fire Station duringthe event which was organised by the borough’sDomestic Abuse Partnership. Lord Mayor Cllr PamBooher said; “This was a fantastic event. Thebikers did a great job and it was wonderful to seepeople turn out to see them and show their support for the campaign to endviolence against women.”

To report domestic abuse happening to someone in your community visitwww.cheshire.police.uk/contact-us/report-online/report-domestic-abuse.aspx

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keeping cheshire fire and rescue service personnel ... · this includes 20 roadshow events,...

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