A team of staff, brought together because of their expertise in dealing with diverse communities, is now working with firefighters across London. And for the next four months, Richmond will be home to one of the new Fire Community Safety Officers, who will be making links with older people.
The officers are assigned to short projects around the capital, targeting groups like young people, older people, or ethnic and faith groups, and aim to make Londoners more aware of fire safety and the services that the Brigade can offer.
Fire Community Safety Officer, Usha Parmar, said: “I’ll be aiming to work closely with Richmond’s Borough Fire Commander and local fire station managers to complement the work they already do to protect people from the dangers of fire.
“Sadly, the majority of fire deaths and injuries across London involve people over 60, often because of issues like reduced mobility or illness. Richmond has a large number of older residents and I’ll be meeting them and talking about how the Fire Brigade can help.”
Based at both Richmond and Twickenham fire stations, Usha will aim to build up a detailed picture of all the local organisations that work with older people and talk directly to older people about the advice and help they need. This information can then be passed on to local firefighters who will use it to make decisions on future community safety projects.
Nigel Sawyer, Fire Brigade Borough Commander for Richmond said: “The single most effective thing local people can do to protect themselves from fire is to fit a smoke alarm and check it regularly. We want Richmond’s older resident to call us and arrange a free home fire safety visit. Firefighters will visit your home, talk to you about how to prevent fires, and how to escape if a fire does start. We’ll also fit free smoke alarms if you need them.
“Hundreds of Richmond residents have already taken advantage of a free visit, so call us on 08000 28 44 28 and arrange a convenient time.”
Note to editors:
The Fire Community Safety Officers team has been established through funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government.
The team have been recruited from a range of backgrounds and their skills include particular languages and experience of working with the public and carrying out community projects.
Members of the media can obtain further information from the press office on:
telephone number: 020 8536 5922
email: press@london-fire.gov.uk
