Fighting fire with fire (From Warrington Guardian)

Fighting fire with fire

A NEW £150,000 state of the art fire engine has been unveiled at Runcorn Fire Station.

Firefighters hope it will be used more frequently by crews offering free fire home safety advice than answering 999 calls.

"The last resort is to respond to an emergency," said assistant divisional officer Paul Rice, Runcorn's commander.

"Our new concept is prevention. This vehicle will be clearly visible doing community safety work, serving and protecting the people of Halton."

Making people aware of the risk of fire has dramatically reduced fatalities in UK house fires from 402 in 1997 to 294 in 2002.

"People sometimes don't realise they have difficulties and may face danger," said ADO Rice. "We want to help and support vulnerable people and offer them our expert advice."

It's not just elderly people living alone who are at risk, he said. Families with young children or disabled and sick relatives are sometimes so busy, they may need to be reminded of fire safety.

"If you have any friends, neighbours or relatives who could benefit from an informal visit by our firefighters, we'd love to hear from you," said ADO Rice. "We work in partnership with various other agencies to reach those most at risk.

"We want to save lives before incidents occur."

Their new Mercedes Atego appliance has all the very latest technology. Call 0800-389 0053 to arrange a free fire home safety check for yourself, a friend, neighbour or relative.