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Brigade youth scheme goes down under |
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A successful scheme developed by London Fire Brigade to improve the self-esteem of young people and reduce antisocial behaviour is being adopted by the New Zealand Fire Service. The Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE) programme (see pg 46) was established in 2002 and is an intensive five day course that teaches young people between the ages of 12 and 17 firefighting skills alongside real firefighters. Now two watch managers from London Fire Brigade, Steve Beesley and Richard Welch, have been invited to Hawke's Bay on the North Island of New Zealand to help set up the scheme there.
The pair will be in New Zealand for around four weeks where they will be training New Zealand firefighters to become LIFE instructors, ensuring the New Zealand Fire Service can train their own instructors, and helping to deliver New Zealand’s first LIFE course. Watch Manager Beesley who manages the LIFE team at London Fire Brigade headquarters said: “Since it started in 2002, the brigade’s LIFE scheme has made a positive difference to the lives of thousands of young people across London. Our staff have also worked with other fire and rescue services to set up the scheme in Northern Ireland, Hampshire, East Sussex, North Yorkshire and Hertfordshire and we are confident it will have the same impact in New Zealand. “As well as fostering a sense of social responsibility and feeling of self worth in those taking part, the course helps young people understand that the choices they make will shape their lives in the future.” Eastern Fire Region Commander-Manager, Paul Baxter from the New Zealand Fire Service, said: “The New Zealand Fire Service is committed to helping create safer communities and we believe the LIFE programme, which has been tried and tested in London, will help us achieve this. The young people selected for the programme will likely be those that have been involved in fire-lighting in the past, as well as those that have shown behaviour that could lead them down that road in the future.
“What makes it likely to be very effective in New Zealand is the way in which it makes use of the high standing that firefighters have in the community to influence the behaviour of these young people by giving them a sense of personal worth.”
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