Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award for the work it does in helping communities across the county stay safe.
The county’s firefighters have been nominated for a gong in the Community Cohesion category at the Local Government Chronicle and Health Service Journal Sustainable Communities Awards 2008.
They are being recognised on the national stage for their work on projects which deliver fire and accident prevention advice to young and old people, people in deprived areas, people with disabilities and people from minority and ethnic backgrounds.
Figures show that two in every three people who die in house fires do so before the Fire and Rescue Service is even called - making it a priority for fire crews to prevent as many blazes as possible from happening in the first place through things like home safety visits.
Since 2003, firefighters have visited more than 30,000 home in Cumbria to fit smoke detectors and deliver basic fire prevention advice. Over the same period, the number of people injured in accidental dwelling fires in the county has fallen by two thirds (65 per cent).
Special effort is made to ensure this and other important fire and accident prevention services are made available to every section of Cumbrian society, including often hard-to-reach groups.
Fire crews will learn if they have won a national award for their work on this scheme and others at a ceremony to be held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 28 February.
Councillor Gary Strong, county council cabinet member responsible for Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, said: "This is a tremendous achievement for our Fire and Rescue Service.
"The work fire crews do in spreading important safety advice to communities across Cumbria has long being recognised locally as being innovative and I‘m delighted that this is now getting the national acclaim it deserves.
Cumbria’s Chief Fire Officer Dominic Harrison, said: "It’s great to see the hard-work of staff getting the nationwide recognition it deserves.
"The traditional role of firefighters is changing with more and more emphasis on preventing fires, road collisions and other accidents from happening in the first place. Vital to this work is the ability to help every community in Cumbria to stay safe."
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Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337
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More information on the Local Government Chronicle and Health Service Journal Sustainable Communities Awards 2008 can be found at http://www.scawards.co.uk/Home.asp (external link)