Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service opens fire stations for PPE donations

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is working closely with the #ppe4nhs campaign to open 18 fire stations across Nottinghamshire for local businesses to drop off donations of PPE

#ppe4nhs was set up to encourage local businesses to donate their spare stocks of PPE to the NHS and keyworkers. PPE could include: disposable aprons, fluid resistant face masks, nitrile gloves, medical gowns/coveralls and hand sanitiser.

Spearheaded by Martin Rigley MBE, the campaign started in Ashfield and has now spread across the whole of Nottinghamshire, over the border into Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.

More than 58,000 items of PPE have already been donated in Nottinghamshire and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service says it is proud to support #ppe4nhs by opening up 18 stations as drop off centres for donations.

Group Manager for Prevention, Andy Macey, said: “The service is already working hard to give back and support the local community including the NHS and keyworkers. This is just another small addition to what the service can do to contribute in these challenging times.

“We encourage businesses from across Nottingham to get in touch with #ppe4nhs to donate. We have already had our first donation of 140 aprons dropped off at West Bridgford Fire Station on behalf of Alantra Corporate Finance and we hope that these donations will continue to support our NHS and keyworkers.”

Following the social distancing guidelines set out by the government, they have worked with #ppe4nhs, to open stations across the whole of Nottinghamshire so businesses do not have to travel unnecessarily far to deliver stocks.

Malcolm Healey, Co-ordinator for #ppe4nhs said: “This is about local businesses supporting our local frontline workers. We’re pleased with the progress that we’ve made so far, however, we still need many more donations. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and can’t thank them enough for their terrific support in opening up local fire stations as drop off centres. This will make it much easier for people to donate.”

Lockdown challenge launched to offset Coronavirus fundraising decline

We may all be locked down, but this spring and summer The Fire Fighters Charity is asking its supporters to embrace self-isolation and social distancing by taking on the Fire Family Challenge

Whether by themselves or with those closest to them – family, friends, watch mates, home working colleagues or socially distanced loved ones – the charity wants its supporters to test their physical, mental or creative strength and raise vital funds to support the UK’s fire services family over the coming months.

The Fire Family Challenge offers supporters and traditional event fundraisers an opportunity to set aside the disappointment of cancelled or postponed events, to test the lockdown limits of their personal space and come together as a fire family to support the thousands of fire service key workers on the Coronavirus frontline today.

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought the charity’s traditional fundraising to a halt, with the cancellation or postponement of countless events and challenges across the UK and overseas. Furthermore, The Fire Fighters Charity does not meet the criteria outlined by government in regard to grant support.

With its donors and supporters usually raising around £10 million a year to fund its health and wellbeing services, the charity has estimated that it may only raise around 50 per cent of its usual fundraising income during this lockdown period. The impact of this could curtail the charity’s ambitions and plans for the future, unless an alternate way to raise that income is found.

The Fire Family Challenge seeks to address this fundraising shortfall by encouraging supporters to take on a personal challenge or come together as a team to take on something special. The charity has provided a host of ideas to support challengers, from garden Olympics to non-stop knitting and sponsored silences. It has also provided simple to follow guides for challengers to set up JustGiving fundraising pages, or Facebook Fundraisers and is offering a range of digital awards to those taking part.

Regional Fundraising Team Manager, Natasha Mason, said of the Fire Family Challenge: “This is a great opportunity for our supporters to do something special for the UK’s incredible fire services family. Our firefighters are working in extraordinary circumstances, at the frontline of this national fight against coronavirus, so the Fire Family Challenge will hopefully offer some light relief and help us to raise some much needed funds at a time when our fundraising has otherwise dried up.”

Visit: www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/firefamilychallenge and use the hashtag #FireFamilyChallenge to see what else is going on across the UK.

Firefighters delivering medicine and food to London’s most vulnerable people

Firefighters are continuing to step up to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, this time by delivering medicines, care packages and food to vulnerable Londoners who are being shielded from Covid-19

Fire crews are collecting prescriptions from pharmacies and delivering them straight to the door of those being advised they should have very limited social interaction during the current pandemic. Food and care packages are also being transported to people’s homes. These include food parcels made for patients discharged from Whipps Cross Hospital and food bank packages, for example delivered in Croydon by firefighters.

While delivering vital medicine and food, crews are also giving fire safety advice at people’s front doors, while social distancing.

The Brigade’s Deputy Commissioner and Director of Operational Delivery and Assurance, Richard Mills, said: “I never doubted for one minute that our staff would step up and adapt to the new and significant challenges our capital is facing due to Covid-19. I’m immensely proud that they are making sure vulnerable residents are getting vital medicine and food delivered to their door and that they are not only delivering, but producing essential PPE for the health workers.

“London is working together in helping prevent the spread of Covid-19 and as well as maintaining a full emergency service we’re prepared to assist other partners to help those in need taking every safety precaution necessary to protect our communities and our staff.”

Firefighters are getting vital protective equipment to frontline health staff. The brigade’s Operation Seacole has so far helped deliver over two million items of essential PPE and local arrangements between London fire crews and the NHS are assisting those in hospitals and care homes.

The brigade’s specialist Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear team, alongside Lambeth crews have made over 17,000 protective face shields for hospital staff to date and 29 boxes have been received by Central and North West London Trust.

Claire Murdoch, CNWL Chief Executive said: “I want to thank the kind hearted Lambeth firefighters for this generous donation! I’m really blown over by their kindness, and to the group Shield NHS for making these for the NHS. We will use it wisely and it will help us to protect our staff who are on the frontline, working hard to care for our patients.”