Lutterworth Police and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) are working with primary school children in the Lutterworth area to educate them about fire safety and crime reduction.

Dave George, Crew Manager from Lutterworth Fire Station who organised the event, acquired a bungalow in Lutterworth to carry out training with 500 Year four and five children from eleven schools within the Lutterworth area.

Dave said:  “As the property was empty I thought I would try and furnish the place to a standard which would enable me to set up such scenes which would demonstrate good and bad situations in line with; hazards in the home, fire safety and security.

“The project took around two months to complete, having received sponsorship from companies such as IKEA, Argos, Harvey’s Furniture, ASDA and other local companies.”

The complete session takes about two hours and is aimed at teaching the children what to do and what not to do in the event of a fire. 

Session 1 included: looking around police and fire appliances along with the crews so that the children can engage with the staff and see what they do and what equipment is carried.

Session 2 included: freely walking around the bungalow and identifying good and bad situations; a story of what happens when you call 999 and what services are available and the consequences of making a hoax call; and how to prevent a fire spreading and an escape plan.

The scene is made to look as real as possible and while the discussions are taking place smoke appears from the ceiling and gaps around closed doors to give the children a real feel of what it is like in a smoke environment.  The children then demonstrate how they should get out the bungalow by crawling and screaming and shouting.

The children are given homework and are asked to complete a ‘Junior Inspector’ form in their own homes with their parents. On completion the forms are entered into a prize draw to win book tokens for their school or an iPad Mini or iPod which was donated by ‘Vattenfall’ otherwise knows as Swinford Wind Farm.

PCSO 6553 Nicola Baker from Broughton Astley and Walton Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “The children had a great afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed looking around the police car and dressing up in riot gear.

“Engaging with young people at an early stage and building relationships can only be a good thing. The initiative run by the LFRS makes the children think about the dangers of fire, but it is done in a fun way.”