Firefighters are reminding people of the potential hazards of outdoor cooking following a fire at West Wittering beach on Sunday (April 11).
Fire Crews from East Wittering and Chichester were called to East Head Spit, a protected National Trust site, when a fire started among gorse and grass following a family BBQ.
“This was the first warm, sunny weekend of the year. So it was natural people should want to get outside and enjoy it. But this incident comes as a timely reminder to take a few simple safety precautions if you’re barbecuing or cooking outdoors,” said Jackie Boyle, Community Fire Safety Officer, West Sussex County Council Fire and Rescue Service.
“Thankfully, on this occasion the fire was extinguished before it caused any serious damage. But it could easily have spread. There are some very basic things you can do to minimise any potential fire risk.”
Peter Evans, County Council Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: “The concern is that as the warm dry weather continues the risk of fires in open areas amongst shrubs, grass and hedgerows can increase.”
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s barbecue basics are:
· Before lighting your barbecue check you are in an authorised area.
· Make sure your barbecue is placed on clear level ground where it will not tip over.
· Position the barbecue somewhere sheltered away from anything that may catch light such as fences, sheds, overhanging trees or shrubs.
· Only use approved barbecue fuel or firelighters – never use petrol or paraffin.
· Keep children and pets well away from the cooking area.
· Never leave the barbecue unattended.
· When you have finished cooking, make sure the barbecue is cool before you try to move it.
· If barbecuing in the garden empty spent ash onto bare garden soil - never put it in the dustbin.
For a full guide to safe barbecuing, including the use of gas BBQs log onto www.westsussex.gov.uk/fire or call the Community Fire Safety Team on 01243 752451.
Showing posts with label West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. Show all posts
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Working together to reduce road deaths.
The ‘Safer Arun Partnership’ (formerly, The Arun Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership) are working to promote better driving practices in young people, with the aim of tackling anti social driving habits before they have time to form, and thus reducing the numbers of people who are killed and seriously injured on our roads every year.
Research shows that one in every three road traffic crashes involves someone between 17 and 25 years of age. To achieve a reduction in these incidents, The Safer Arun Partnership’s Road Safety Action Group are working to promote better and safer driving, involving a series of workshops and additional driving tuition through the Young Drivers’ Skills Programme (YDSP). The working group consists of staff from West Sussex County Council Road Safety, Arun District Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and Sussex Police Roads Policing Unit.
This project is aimed at those young drivers in the Arun District who Sussex Police have highlighted as driving anti socially, committed a speed, mobile telephone or similar crash attributable offence, or whose driving demonstrates a noticeable lack of experience. No driver is ‘let off’ their ticket or summons as a result of attending this course.
Unfortunately bad and anti social driving can be habit forming. The aim is to tackle those issues before the habits have time to form.
As well as saving lives, the skills and information the young drivers acquire during the Young Drivers’ Skills Programme could improve their driving, making it more likely that their driving behaviour will be altered to such an extent as to minimise the chance of future offence based interactions with the Police. The group will also be working alongside the young drivers to help them regain their self respect, and in turn educate them to respect other road users and residents within their own communities.
The YDSP involves the young driver undertaking an assessed drive with Qualified Advanced Driving Instructors. This will give extra experience at a time when the young driver is most vulnerable. The session allows for feedback to be given in relation to their driving, with advice that will improve their skill set and reduce the chances of them being involved in a serious crash.
As well as the assessed drive, the programme includes an opportunity for the young drivers to receive tuition and test their skills under adverse road conditions on a skid pan, as well as attending a workshop where a DVD, Hard Hit , which is just that, is shown. A number of guest speakers from West Sussex County Council Road Safety, Sussex Police and West Sussex Fire and Rescue give a realistic and professional insight into the real life impact of anti social and bad driving.
Over 3500 people are killed on the roads of Great Britain every year, that s nearly ten people who leave home every day never to return. Two hundred and eighty four young people aged between 17 and 25 years were killed or seriously injured on Sussex roads in 2006 - too many - hopefully we can make a difference in the Arun district. If one fatality on our roads costs approximately one million pounds - it s worth investing a little time, money and effort in these young drivers.
Arun Deputy District Fire Commander, Lindsay Freegard who chairs the Road Safety Action Group said, “Having attended one of the workshop sessions myself, I feel confident that by attending this course it will enable these young drivers to be more prepared and better able to safely enjoy the pleasures and freedom that driving brings.”
Sgt Peter Allan of Littlehampton NPT said, "I am pleased to support this programme which gives young drivers the opportunity to equip themselves with new skills and information that will hopefully make them more aware of their responsibilities while driving. The fact that they are in a high risk group is not only an issue for them, but those who travel in their cars as passengers, other road users, pedestrians and the many family and friends that road crashes affect.
"In a month where a young driver died after the van he was driving collided with an articulated lorry in Cheshire, it is my hope, that if this programme saves only one life and the associated heartache caused to family and friends, then the investment made by those involved will have been worthwhile."
Research shows that one in every three road traffic crashes involves someone between 17 and 25 years of age. To achieve a reduction in these incidents, The Safer Arun Partnership’s Road Safety Action Group are working to promote better and safer driving, involving a series of workshops and additional driving tuition through the Young Drivers’ Skills Programme (YDSP). The working group consists of staff from West Sussex County Council Road Safety, Arun District Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and Sussex Police Roads Policing Unit.
This project is aimed at those young drivers in the Arun District who Sussex Police have highlighted as driving anti socially, committed a speed, mobile telephone or similar crash attributable offence, or whose driving demonstrates a noticeable lack of experience. No driver is ‘let off’ their ticket or summons as a result of attending this course.
Unfortunately bad and anti social driving can be habit forming. The aim is to tackle those issues before the habits have time to form.
As well as saving lives, the skills and information the young drivers acquire during the Young Drivers’ Skills Programme could improve their driving, making it more likely that their driving behaviour will be altered to such an extent as to minimise the chance of future offence based interactions with the Police. The group will also be working alongside the young drivers to help them regain their self respect, and in turn educate them to respect other road users and residents within their own communities.
The YDSP involves the young driver undertaking an assessed drive with Qualified Advanced Driving Instructors. This will give extra experience at a time when the young driver is most vulnerable. The session allows for feedback to be given in relation to their driving, with advice that will improve their skill set and reduce the chances of them being involved in a serious crash.
As well as the assessed drive, the programme includes an opportunity for the young drivers to receive tuition and test their skills under adverse road conditions on a skid pan, as well as attending a workshop where a DVD, Hard Hit , which is just that, is shown. A number of guest speakers from West Sussex County Council Road Safety, Sussex Police and West Sussex Fire and Rescue give a realistic and professional insight into the real life impact of anti social and bad driving.
Over 3500 people are killed on the roads of Great Britain every year, that s nearly ten people who leave home every day never to return. Two hundred and eighty four young people aged between 17 and 25 years were killed or seriously injured on Sussex roads in 2006 - too many - hopefully we can make a difference in the Arun district. If one fatality on our roads costs approximately one million pounds - it s worth investing a little time, money and effort in these young drivers.
Arun Deputy District Fire Commander, Lindsay Freegard who chairs the Road Safety Action Group said, “Having attended one of the workshop sessions myself, I feel confident that by attending this course it will enable these young drivers to be more prepared and better able to safely enjoy the pleasures and freedom that driving brings.”
Sgt Peter Allan of Littlehampton NPT said, "I am pleased to support this programme which gives young drivers the opportunity to equip themselves with new skills and information that will hopefully make them more aware of their responsibilities while driving. The fact that they are in a high risk group is not only an issue for them, but those who travel in their cars as passengers, other road users, pedestrians and the many family and friends that road crashes affect.
"In a month where a young driver died after the van he was driving collided with an articulated lorry in Cheshire, it is my hope, that if this programme saves only one life and the associated heartache caused to family and friends, then the investment made by those involved will have been worthwhile."
Friday, 2 April 2010
Roadside eye tests for Littlehampton motorists help combat “blind driving”
Motorists across Littlehampton could be pulled over and have their sight tested as part of a new initiative to combat the danger of “blind driving”.
Arun’s Road Safety Action Group, part of the Safer Arun Partnership, will pull over motorists and give them eye tests to ensure their sight meets the required standards over the coming weeks.
Under current legislation, a learner driver will fail a driving test if he or she cannot read a number plate 20 metres away. But according to the Royal National Institute for the Blind, a third of drivers in Britain, around 13m people, could be breaking the law and putting themselves and others in danger because of poor vision, or “blind driving”.
In order to combat the problem, Arun’s Road Safety Action Group, which is made up of representatives from Sussex Police and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, is backing the national THINK! campaign by carrying out random on-the-spot eye checks over the coming weeks. Last month 64 people were stopped in one day in Littlehampton. One person failed to pass the sight test.
Inspector Phil Nicholas, from the Sussex Police Road Policing Unit, said:
"For most people, eyesight deteriorates with age. Unfortunately the change can be so gradual that we compensate without realising it, which leads to many road users driving with uncorrected defects.
“These operations are continuing in towns across Sussex over the next few months as part of a campaign to raise awareness of this issue. The risks of someone driving with uncorrected eyesight and the danger it exposes to other road users is all too clear. It is our recommendation that a driver should have their eyesight checked at least every two years, more often if advised by a health professional. If you have been prescribed glasses or lenses for driving you must wear them, even on the shortest of trips."
Failing the new roadside tests will mean that drivers are informed that they could be risking a fine, disqualification, or invalidating their motor insurance.
Police will advise them to seek an optician's advice immediately.
For drivers with seriously defective eyesight, police will take action to prevent them from getting behind the wheel of their car again until they receive medical advice. It is a criminal offence to fail to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any eyesight condition likely to cause you to be a source of danger to other road users.
Arun’s Road Safety Action Group was set up a year ago as a sub group of the Safer Arun Partnership to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads.
As the group approaches its first birthday, figures show a 10% reduction in the number of casualties compared to the previous year, down to 428 in 2009 from 476 in 2008 and a 14% reduction in the number of those killed or seriously injured for the same period, down from 86 in 2008 to 74 in 2009.
Throughout the year the group has targeted accident hot spots across the district carrying out both education and enforcement.
Lindsay Freegard, the Deputy District Commander of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and chair of the group, said,“We know that this reduction is not down to just down to one new group but, equally, the efforts of all concerned have contributed to these reductions and our overall aim of seeing fewer casualties on our roads.
“Our first year has also highlighted the many and varied challenges that exist in order to meet our targets. There is a lot to be done to ensure we continue to reduce the number of people hurt or killed on our roads.”
Arun’s Road Safety Action Group, part of the Safer Arun Partnership, will pull over motorists and give them eye tests to ensure their sight meets the required standards over the coming weeks.
Under current legislation, a learner driver will fail a driving test if he or she cannot read a number plate 20 metres away. But according to the Royal National Institute for the Blind, a third of drivers in Britain, around 13m people, could be breaking the law and putting themselves and others in danger because of poor vision, or “blind driving”.
In order to combat the problem, Arun’s Road Safety Action Group, which is made up of representatives from Sussex Police and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, is backing the national THINK! campaign by carrying out random on-the-spot eye checks over the coming weeks. Last month 64 people were stopped in one day in Littlehampton. One person failed to pass the sight test.
Inspector Phil Nicholas, from the Sussex Police Road Policing Unit, said:
"For most people, eyesight deteriorates with age. Unfortunately the change can be so gradual that we compensate without realising it, which leads to many road users driving with uncorrected defects.
“These operations are continuing in towns across Sussex over the next few months as part of a campaign to raise awareness of this issue. The risks of someone driving with uncorrected eyesight and the danger it exposes to other road users is all too clear. It is our recommendation that a driver should have their eyesight checked at least every two years, more often if advised by a health professional. If you have been prescribed glasses or lenses for driving you must wear them, even on the shortest of trips."
Failing the new roadside tests will mean that drivers are informed that they could be risking a fine, disqualification, or invalidating their motor insurance.
Police will advise them to seek an optician's advice immediately.
For drivers with seriously defective eyesight, police will take action to prevent them from getting behind the wheel of their car again until they receive medical advice. It is a criminal offence to fail to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any eyesight condition likely to cause you to be a source of danger to other road users.
Arun’s Road Safety Action Group was set up a year ago as a sub group of the Safer Arun Partnership to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads.
As the group approaches its first birthday, figures show a 10% reduction in the number of casualties compared to the previous year, down to 428 in 2009 from 476 in 2008 and a 14% reduction in the number of those killed or seriously injured for the same period, down from 86 in 2008 to 74 in 2009.
Throughout the year the group has targeted accident hot spots across the district carrying out both education and enforcement.
Lindsay Freegard, the Deputy District Commander of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and chair of the group, said,“We know that this reduction is not down to just down to one new group but, equally, the efforts of all concerned have contributed to these reductions and our overall aim of seeing fewer casualties on our roads.
“Our first year has also highlighted the many and varied challenges that exist in order to meet our targets. There is a lot to be done to ensure we continue to reduce the number of people hurt or killed on our roads.”
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