| London Fire Brigade's marathon effort will tend to create a mass appeal regarding fire safety issues |
In terms of fundraising, the Brigade’s staff aims to raise thousands of pounds for charity.
Encouraging people to get a working smoke alarm was the aim of the day for London Fire Brigade’s fifty runners at this year’s London Marathon, which took place on Sunday 17 April. The runners, including over 40 firefighters, wore vests bearing the slogan ‘Get a Working Smoke Alarm’ to highlight just how important these life saving devices are.
The Brigade’s latest figures show that over half the people who die in fires don’t have a working smoke alarm and the Brigade hopes to raise awareness of the importance of the alarms during the race. London Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson, said: “If this vital fire safety information helps to save the life of one person, I’m sure our runners will agree all the hard work will be more than worth it.”
Amongst those cheering the Brigade’s Marathon runners was the Brigade’s rapping firefighter, Stephen-remell Coleman. Stephen-remell Coleman, a watch manager at Lewisham Fire Station, who uses his musical talents to convey fire safety messages released his single 'Got Mine Got Yours?'. A rap about how smoke alarms save lives in 2007.
In terms of fundraising, the Brigade’s staff aim to raise thousands of pounds for charity. Organisations benefitting from Brigade staffs’ marathon efforts include the Firefighters Charity, British Heart Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Society, not to mention several local hospices and charities. London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: “Our runners have been training hard and are set to raise tens of thousands of pounds for charity which is a fantastic achievement.”