Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 16/02/2004 09:00

Fire Safety Minister Phil Hope today (16th February) visited St Austell Community Fire Station.

The Minister visited Cornwall to witness first hand the many successful initiatives that Cornwall County Fire Brigade have undertaken involving young people in Cornish communities. Phil Hope was interested to hear the views of a range of young people in the community, and how they feel about the benefits of working with the fire brigade.

“Cornwall County Fire Brigade welcome the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to a modernised fire service. Cornwall is a leader in many fields but is often forgotten due us being in the far south west of the country. This visit allows the Brigade to demonstrate the diversity of initiatives that it is involved in. The public are well aware of our fire fighting capabilities but we contribute so much more to the community of Cornwall”
said Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mark Yates

The Minister also visited the Flashpoint Safety Centre in Bodmin before arriving at St Austell Fire Station. At the Flashpoint Centre he received a tour of the facilities and was introduced to The Phoenix Project Team.

The Phoenix Project is a fun and exciting opportunity to work with the fire service. It gives youngsters a variety of mental and physical activities to help build team spirit and build self confidence. The aim of the Phoenix Project is to invest in young people, using the reputation of the brigade to benefit youngsters and in turn the wider community. It is targeted towards the 13 to 17 age group, as well as children aged between five and fifteen years old in conjunction with Cornwall County Fire Brigade’s Fire Awareness Child Education (FACE) scheme.

At St Austell Fire Station Phil Hope MP was hosted by the Chief Fire Officer Mick Howell, Executive Member Jill Ferrett and Divisional Commander Ted Simpson.

The minister received a tour of the flagship station – the only wholetime station to be rebuilt as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) completed in 2003.

The PFI project is a partnership with Pyramid Accommodation Services (Cornwall) Limited, a consortium of private sector companies, which includes Tilbury Douglas Construction Ltd and WS Atkins Facilities Management. Finance also came from ‘Pathfinder’ funding, as part of a scheme set up by the Government for projects of this kind.

All of the Brigade’s 31 Fire Stations were transformed in this £40 million contract. Ten Fire Stations were rebuilt, including St Austell, and the remaining 21 were completely upgraded.

Phil Hope MP witnessed a practical demonstration by the fire cadets at St Austell which included hose running and, of course, spraying water! Richard Gibbons demonstrated the skills of the arson detection dog Nelson including how he can sniff out accelerants at incidents to assist in apprehending arsonists.

The Minister also met Community Fire Safety Advisor Sarah Webber who visits children in schools to teach them the dangers of fire, Arson Task Force member Pete Sandell and female firefighter Sam Morris who supports the brigade’s innovative idea of introducing crèches at retained stations. Cornwall is the first brigade in the country to introduce this scheme.

“I am delighted that the Minister has taken time out of his busy schedule to visit Cornwall. We are pleased to show him the many initiatives that exist here, and that we have the opportunity to show how Cornwall is at the fore front of the current modernisation agenda” said Jill Ferrett, Executive Member Public Protection

Fire Safety Minister Phil Hope said "I was particularly interested to see first hand the excellent work Cornwall Fire Brigade is carrying out with young people, such as the Fire Cadets.

"St Austell Community Fire Station is also a great facility that provides the service with a very effective means of delivering fire safety advice and engaging with the community it serves.

"Initiatives such as these, working with young people and community fire stations, support one of the key themes of the Fire and Rescue Services Bill of placing a greater emphasis on fire prevention”