Schools Fire Safety Programme Launched By Clare County Fire & Rescue Service

Kilnaboy, County Clare, 28th September 2007 – Clare County Fire and Rescue Service and Minister of State and Clare T.D., Mr. Tony Killeen today launched the Clare Schools Fire Safety Programme 2007-08. The Programme, entitled Safety Team, will see thousands of 3rd class students in Clare’s 120 primary schools receiving fire safety awareness lessons courtesy of the County Fire and Rescue Service. Last year the Service provided lessons to over 3700 students across the County. Speaking at the launch in Kilnaboy National School, Minister Killeen complimented the Clare County Fire and Rescue

Service for its work in promoting fire safety awareness.

The Minister added, "The School Fire Safety Programme information lessons are designed to teach children to educate their families about Fire Safety and about protecting homes and communities from fire. Over the coming school year 53,000 pupils in 3,300 schools all over the country will be told about the importance of having smoke alarms installed in the home." "The launch of the Programme is especially timely as National Fire Safety Week 2007 runs from 1st-8th October 2007. Again I would like to complement Clare County Fire and Rescue Service for organising a series of open nights at its fire stations, in conjunction with National Fire Safety Week", stated Minister Killeen.

According to Maria Carey, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Clare County Fire & Rescue Service stated, "The age at which a child receives a fire safety lesson is important. Experience has shown that if the child is too young then he/she may not fully understand the message and, secondly, the child may become frightened. Children of 8 or 9 years old are more open to messages of fire safety and, if educated early enough, are less likely to progress into activities such as false alarms and arson." Commenting on the 'Safety Team Programme, Ms. Carey explained that participating schoolchildren are expected, as part of their homework, to interact with their families on the elements of the programme.

She said, "Each child is provided with a Home Safety Check Sheet, which must be filled out by a family member in the home. This completed Home Safety Check Sheet is evidence of the key fire safety message reaching inside the home and is also a valuable resource for statistical purposes. This interaction puts the problem and the solution together in the same place at the same time, making it more likely that any fire safety problems will be successfully addressed in the future."