| Firefighters urged children to be wary of local hazards such as ponds or lakes |
Firefighters in the Lothians and Borders FRS visited over 5,000 children across the area throughout June. Children in primary schools and at fetes throughout Lothian and Borders were asked to think about the summer hazards brought about by light nights.
The summer nights can mean children may be staying out to play later and warm and dry weather leads to playing outside more, wearing different clothes and being in different surroundings.
Firefighters got the children to discuss and think especially about dangers that are local to them, such as a pond which triggers water safety issues or a quarry or cliff could mean a nasty fall and a line rescue from the Fire and Rescue Service.
Chief Fire Office Brian Allaway said "This is a fantastic team effort by our community firefighters, operational firefighters and community safety staff. It is great that so many children have been reached, to complement the excellent work already carried out by the Service in schools across the region throughout the year."
A lot can change during the summer months that can present further dangers to children's safety. These changes and subsequent hazards seem so routine, the increased danger may not occur to parents and their children.
Community Safety Manager for the Service, Mike Partington, said, "The aim of our child safety drive at this time of year, is to get the kids thinking about all of the dangers than can arise and how to prevent getting themselves into dangerous situations.
"By focusing on local hazards, we hope to teach the children that it's not just fire hazards we want them to be careful of."
Mike Bridgman, Convener of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Board added, "It is important that children, and their parents understand the ‘Rescue' part of the Service's name. If they can hear first hand from the Firefighters about local rescues such as line rescue or water rescue that are real and have happened in their area, they will hopefully relate to the situations and understand that these hazards are a reality."
If you run a club or group of young people who would be interested in learning about safety hazards and how to avoid them, the Service will be very happy to talk to them. The Service's freephone number 0800 169 0320 can be called to arrange such visits, to provide fire safety advice or to arrange a free Home Fire Safety Check.