A community safety day which highlighted the work of Shropshire's emergency services was hailed a great success by the Chair of the Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority, Councillor Stuart West who praised the work of the local emergency services. The recent event at Craven Arms Fire Station involved fire-fighters, police, local community safety officers, first responders, paramedics and road safety representatives participating in demonstrations to show their various roles and skills at road traffic collisions, chip pan fires and home and business fire safety.
Firefighters and Paramedics demonstrate their skills, by releasing a trapped casualty from her car.
This exciting event organised by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service in partnership with South Shropshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and the Community Council of Shropshire to promote community awareness and to give Craven Arms residents and visitors the opportunity to come along and find out useful information on a wide range of community support services.
Visitors are given a display highlighting the dangers of chip pan fires.
The event also seen the re-dedication of Craven Arms Fire Station by Councillor Stuart West, Chair of the Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority and Councillor Neville Stephens, Chair of Craven Arms Town Council.
Craven Arms Fire Station was originally constructed in 1950 and was one of our oldest stations in the brigade. During the last twelve months the station has been completely refurbished and extended to double its original size. This was necessary to accommodate a new larger fire engine, which will now carry a larger number of fire-fighters to emergency incidents and also to house a Heavy Pumping Unit to provide a much needed large volume pumping facility for the South Shropshire area.
Councillor West stated that in the past twelve months Craven Arms station establishment had been increased from 7 to 12 fire-fighters and without the commitment of our fire-fighters the station refurbishment and new equipment would be worthless.
This investment, totalling nearly half a million pounds, will allow the station to be used by other community organisations and will be a valuable community facility for the people of Craven Arms. This demonstrates Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority's commitment to improving the service it provides to the community.
Local employers who release their staff to attend emergency calls during the working day receive plaques and certificates from Chief Fire Officer Alan Taylor, Chair of the Fire Authority Councillor Stuart West and vice Chair Councillor Yvonne Kidson-Holyoak. Employers receiving certificates and plaques are Rob Poyner from Britpart and Rizvan Khalid from Euro Quality Lambs.
The event was also used to show the Service's appreciation to local employers who allow their staff to attend emergency incidents during their work periods. These employers were awarded certificates and plaques from Chief Fire Officer Alan Taylor. The presentation was our way of saying thank you to these local employers. Chief Fire Officer Taylor said that without the help of these community minded employers, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service would find it difficult to provide an emergency service for the community of Craven Arms.
