New look FireBreak success for Crawley students
ELEVEN young people marked successfully completing a pilot new-look FireBreak course at Crawley Fire Station with a passing out and awards ceremony on Friday July 16.
They performed a fire drill and demonstrated the new skills they had learned to their proud family and friends.
The FireBreak scheme is run by West Sussex County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service and is aimed at children between the ages of 12 and 14.
The course is designed to promote a culture of safety and citizenship through a structured programme of events, combining practical training with classroom-based workshops.
The Crawley graduation was one of six courses piloting a new more intensive format that is held over five consecutive days instead of one day a week for 10 weeks, which has been the format since FireBreak was launched six years ago.
Tony Hill, Fire and Rescue Service Youth Instructor, said: “We’re delighted with how it has gone. The students have definitely benefited from the added continuity of working with us every day and we’ve seen their confidence and self-belief grow.
“We’ve been able to build up real momentum in encouraging the discipline and teamwork they need for the activities and challenges they have taken on.
“They have all also achieved a HeadStart qualification, learning basic life saving skills, which they will take forward with them. Because the new format has been so successful we hope to continue with it in the autumn.
“Students are nominated to attend a FireBreak course because the schools and other agencies believe they will benefit from this unique opportunity.”
Certificates were presented by Simon Furlong, People and Organisation Manager for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.
He said: “FireBreak is a very demanding course, even more so now that it is condensed into five days. It’s extremely rewarding to see all the students successfully graduate.”
The students were from:
• Imberhorne School, East Grinstead.
• Oriel High School, Crawley.
• St Wilfrid’s Catholic School, Crawley.
• Thomas Bennett Community College, Crawley.
• West Sussex Anti Social Behaviour Team.
• West Sussex Youth Offending Service Team.
The graduation was attended by County Councillor Alan Quirk, Chairman of Crawley County Local Committee, and County Councillor Clem Stevens.
Clem said: “By graduating, the young people showed they are motivated and willing to learn new skills. The demonstrations they gave are testament to their hard work and commitment as well as the dedication of their instructors.”
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