Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 18/10/2010 09:24

An exciting and innovative way of delivering important fire and road safety messages to the youngest members of the community which was created, developed and piloted by Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS), has been presented to the South West Region Fire & Rescue Services.

The elfs (Early Learning Fire Safety) project was developed in house by Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service with funding from the South West Regional Efficiency and Improvement Partnership Project Board. The pilot scheme in Cornwall has been so successful that elfs is set to be shared throughout the south west and with the potential for the scheme to go national.

Since its launch in Cornwall in February, elfs, which stands for early learning fire safety, has been loaned on over 270 occasions which means that over 4500 children have had fun with the educational resource which takes the form of a large colourful box, shaped like a fire engine containing fire and rescue dressing up clothes, games, jigsaws and books.

Behind the fun and games there are serious messages with each of elfs seven strong crew of firefighters from ‘Blue Watch, Kernoweth Fire and Rescue Service’, based in ‘Kernoweth Town’ focusing on a specific safety message.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer Des Tidbury explains: “I am delighted that the hard work and dedication put into developing elfs by CFRS personnel has been recognised. I am sure that fire and rescue services throughout the south west will find it as useful as we do in teaching youngsters about the danger of fire and the importance of fire and road safety from a very young age. The service aims to get out there and deliver safety messages to all age groups and I see this initiative as an invaluable addition to that commitment. We hope that fire and rescue services across the south west will be introducing elfs on a rolling programme and they will be contacting carers, pre schools, nurseries and children centres in their region.”

elfs works within the EYFS curriculum and CFRS have been supported by Children, Schools and Families to help promote a healthy and positive awareness of the fire and rescue service, fire and road safety, the role of the firefighter and healthy living.

To support elfs, an interactive children’s area has been set up on the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service section of Cornwall Council’s website. The pages at www.cornwall.gov.uk/elfs include games and activities as well as an ask the elfs question area for the children to send in their fire related questions.

Representatives from the funding body and those who have worked on the development and creation of elfs showcased the resource to colleagues from Gloucester, Wiltshire, Dorset, Avon, Somerset and Devon fire services at a meeting on 14 October at the headquarters of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service with help from children from a local school.

Cornwall Council cabinet member for community safety and neighbourhoods Lance Kennedy said: “This is a great example of Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service leading from the front in putting together a resource which will be adopted regionally and will hopefully be adopted nationwide. Without doubt elfs is an innovative scheme and provides a valuable tool in delivering important safety messages in a format which engages with preschool and early year’s pupils. The evaluation of the project has demonstrated its success and I am delighted at the plans to roll it out across the Fire & Rescue Services in the region. I believe it has the potential, in time, to be used by other services nationwide”

In Cornwall where elfs is already available, it can be booked for a period of two weeks on free loan to anyone involved in the education and care of children in the Early Years Foundation Stages (EYFS), including nursery workers, carers and playgroup leaders. It aims to deliver specific key messages in a fun and interactive way so that the children learn through play.

For information on how to book the resource in Cornwall, please visit the website: www.cornwall.gov.uk/elfs