Princes Trust scheme is a real success!
Young people from the Stratford District have been learning what life is like as a firefighter as part of the Princess Trust scheme.
The project, which is being run by Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service in partnership with Warwickshire College aims to provide young people aged between 17 and 25 with the opportunity to see what firefighters have to deal with on a daily basis, including the trauma of road traffic collisions and the level of discipline required.
Stratford Area Risk Team member, Andy Thompson said:
“Working in partnership with Warwickshire college has provided us with an excellent opportunity to work with young people from within the local community. During the sessions they had the opportunity to wear firefighting kit, run out some hose and take part in some team building exercises.
“The following week a further session was held where we focused on road traffic collisions. During the sessions, members of the scheme were able to develop their understanding of how collisions occur on our roads and experience how firefighters deal with this type of incident. We hope that members of the scheme will now have a better understanding of how important our safety messages are and take away key skills such as the ability to work well as a part of a team”.
As well as learning about road safety, those involved in the project also took part in a wide range of activities including team building exercises, practical firefighting tasks, fire safety advice sessions and problem solving activities.
Cathy Paintain, who works for Warwickshire College and runs the team programme, said:
“Its so nice to be part of the Princes trust team programme and see these individuals working as a team with groups in the local community and being able to challenge the common stereo type often held of young people. The team really enjoyed the workshops delivered by the Fire Fighters and being given the opportunity to step into their boots, if only for a short while. They were also given a talk on road traffic collisions which highlighted some shocking statistics”.