At 9.30 am on November 3rd 2015, a fire engine backed into the car park at St Aidan’s Church.
Was there an emergency?
No. They were coming to the weekly ‘Squeals on Wheels’ meeting for parents with young children.
The Fire Brigade had been invited by the local branch of the Mothers Union to be presented with 2 boxes of hand knitted ‘Trauma Teddies’, and to give the families present advice on fire precautions in the home. The ‘Trauma Teddies’ will be given out by officers to children who have lost belongings and suffered distress through fires at their homes.
A constant stream of excited toddlers were lifted into the fire engine by the crew, where they sat in the cab pretending to be Fireman Sam.
In the hall, there were leaflets about particular dangers over the Christmas period with unsafe electrical trimmings and candles. The specific advice was:
- Ensure that Christmas tree lights carry the British Safety Standard sign, and keep decorations away from lights or heaters.
- Never leave burning candles unattended or near the Christmas tree or flammable materials (Candles cause 3 fires a day!)
- Test the smoke alarm batteries and never remove them.(Not having a working smoke alarm makes the risk of dying in a fire 4 times greater)
- Never overload electrical sockets – keep to one plug per socket, and unplug Christmas lights when not needed.(Faulty electrics cause around 6,000 fires in the home each year)
- Most fires start in the kitchen, so avoid leaving a cooker unattended.
- Make sure your family and visitors know how to escape in an emergency.
There were other guidelines, but the advice above could also relate to Christmas in churches too.
It was a very successful day, and recommended for any other church. The Fire Service are very happy to meet with and advise their local community.
Margaret Royle, MU Branch Leader, St Aidan’s and St Stephen’s, Acomb, York