THE team at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s new education centre, near Lymm has been presented with a special award for their work.
Since July last year, Safety Central has welcomed more than 4,500 visitors of who approximately 4,000 were children and young people.
The service has an impressive track record of preventing people of all ages from coming to harm in the home, on the road and in the community, and the opening of Safety Central means the service is now taking this work to a whole new level.
Working with partners the team uses Safety Central’s four realistic learning zones to develop tailor-made programmes for ‘at risk’ people such as parents with toddlers, primary school children, teenagers, adults with learning disabilities, carers and older people.
They were handed the Support Team Excellence Award at the Success, Talent, Achievement and Recognition (STAR) Awards, which recognise and honour those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the awards, and more than 100 people attended the ceremony, which was hosted by ITV Granada’s Lucy Meacock, at the Village Hotel in Warrington.
Safety Central Manager Mark Shone said: “It’s really nice to get the recognition from the Service. It’s been a very busy couple of years getting the centre ready for visitors. Now we have bedded in and it’s working really well. The Chief and the Fire Authority gave us, the team, a lot of autonomy to get Safety Central ready for visitors and I cannot thank them enough for that.”
Chief Fire Officer Mark Cashin said: “It gives me immense pride to see the dedication and hard work our staff show each and every day to help keep the public of Cheshire safe.
“Congratulations to the winners, nominees and everyone who has been involved with this year’s STAR awards, they are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the inspirational work which goes on across the Service.
“This year was an extra special event as it is the tenth time we have held the awards, and after hearing the winners’ stories I feel extremely humbled and proud to be the Chief Fire Officer and to represent an organisation which provides an exceptional level of service to the communities we serve.”
