FIREFIGHTERS based at Thame Fire Station have won an award for their efforts to educate local youngsters about the consequences of drink-driving and other poor decisions made on the road.
Members of the crew received an Investor in Education award from the Oxfordshire Business Education Alliance (OBEA) for the success of their hard-hitting ‘Choices and Consequences’ presentation, which they have shown to hundreds of 15 to 16-year-olds at Lord Williams’s School over the past two years (2007-09).
The programme features a no-nonsense talk from crew members and gritty video footage designed to show how poor decision-making such as drink-driving or getting in a car with someone who has been drinking can have a devastating impact on others.
Staff at the school nominated the Thame crew for the award, which firefighters received at a ceremony on Friday (July 3), at the Peartree Travelodge Hotel.
Profound effect
Station Manager Gary Coupar said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been nominated for this award by Lord Williams’s School. We know from the feedback we get from youngsters who have seen the presentation, that it can have a profound effect on them.
“It doesn’t make for easy viewing but so many of the students have told us that it would definitely make them think twice before getting in a car after a few drinks or allowing a friend who had been drinking to give them a lift.”
Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities, Judith Heathcoat, added: “It’s really rewarding for our firefighters to know that their work has struck a chord with its intended audience. Taking these safety messages directly to children and young people gives us the best chance of influencing their future behaviour and decision-making in a positive way.”
Choices and Consequences
Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service has been running the ‘Choices and Consequences’ presentation in schools and at public events across the county since 2005.
The programme was developed as part of the fire service’s 365 Alive campaign to reduce the number of deaths on the county’s roads through education and community safety advice. In addition to Choices and Consequences, The Thame crew has also held a New Driver evening in the town hall.
Further award
Meanwhile Julie Jordan of the fire service’s Risk Reduction Team received an individual ‘Investor in Education’ award for her work with children from Gosford Hill, Marlborough and Wheatley Park schools. Julie helped organise team-building and problem solving exercises at fire stations including Headington’s Slade Park station and the Headquarters in Kidlington. The work included a project looking at how to make the fire service’s 365 Alive website more user-friendly.
She said: “It’s great to be able to give children a taste of what goes on inside a fire station and to show them all the different roles carried out by staff. I’m sure all the children we have worked with have taken something positive from their time with us.”
Oxfordshire Business Education Alliance
The OBEA is a partnership of six schools and many businesses, which helps organise work experience and involvement of businesses in school courses. The organisation presented certificates to 47 local businesses in recognition of their high level of support for projects organised by the OBEA and high quality work with schools.
Photo: A fire crew from Thame demonstrate cutting out a trapped driver from her crashed car – something they have had to do ‘for real’ too many times in accidents involving often young drivers.
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