Caythorpe Beavers and Cubs visit Brant Broughton Fire Station

On Thursday 15 June, 11 Beavers and 16 Cubs embarked on a visit to Brant Broughton Fire Station. Ian Taylor, Watch Manager, very kindly organised the visit – which was recently awarded the ‘Beacon Stations’ highest achiever in the annual station visit. This is a massive achievement and reflects the dedication, time and effort that the volunteers put in, keeping us safe and being there for us when most needed. Great job and very well deserved!

The visit is very much linked in with our Scouting fire safety badgework and general understanding of fire and home safety. We were very warmly greeted by Roxy, Arthur, Paul and Elliot at the entrance, split in to three ‘teams’ and off we went......

The first team, led by Paul, had a sit down in the ‘training’ room. There was a talk about fire safety, home fire plans and general awareness around what to do and what not to do! It was great to talk about this with our Beavers and Cubs.

The second team, led by Roxy, were shown all the ‘kit’ that the fire crews have to wear for their call outs. Helmets, boots, jackets and trousers were quickly put on, though they swamped most of our children! But it certainly gave them food for thought with regards to the weight of all the kit, and more importantly the protection it gives the crews when attending a shout.

The third team was led by Arthur and Elliot – they went out to the tender! Need I say more…………… Well yes! Wide eyes and lots of excitement, not only seeing what kit the tender stores, even sitting in the cab with the lights flashing and sirens blasting out – but they all got to use the hose (under very close supervision) and knock some cones over at a distance! The teams were rotated so they each had about 20 / 25 minutes in each area – it was so exciting and interesting we overran a little bit – with great enthusiasm and focus!

This was not only a very exciting visit for our Beavers and Cubs, but more importantly a fun way of getting over to them what safety means personally and around our homes. Please, as parents / guardians, ask them what they did, encourage that conversation to help build their understanding. They were all focused on the night – let’s keep that going. Hopefully our young people will remember important aspects like fire plans, escape routes, and the importance of smoke alarms – located in the right place and regularly tested!

We can’t thank Ian and the crew enough for their efforts. It was a fantastic evening run by trained professionals, who like us are volunteers, and gave their time up for our young people. Thank you!!!