Medway Fire Station was the venue for "Community Connect for Carers" on Friday 22 June, aimed at raising awareness among specifically invited care groups.

Some of Medway's key community groups attended a special morning of demonstrations and advice, aimed at improving fire safety in the homes of elderly and vulnerable residents.

The event was prompted by 42 house fires in the Medway area since the beginning of the year. These ranged from fires caused by electrical appliances to unattended cooking and led to 19 casualties suffering from injuries including burns and smoke inhalation.

Medway Watch Manager Paul Nash said: "We are extremely active with our work out in the community and, while this will continue, we also wanted to hold a special event for key groups to be able to come to us. We hope that they'll learn to look out for certain safety issues when they care for people in their homes and they know where to turn for further help if they identify potential fire safety problems."

Safety in the home, particularly the kitchen, was the main theme and around 60 guests saw a number of displays - including a chip pan demonstration. Fire officers were also on hand to give further safety advice.

Pirthipal Kang, Kent Fire and Rescue Service's Principal Community Liaison Officer, concluded: "This was an excellent opportunity to talk to people from a range of different backgrounds and we had representatives attending from various ethnic groups and carers' organisations. We hope to repeat this event in other parts of Kent and Medway so that people who play a major role in caring for some of the county's most vulnerable residents can help them to stay safe from the potentially devastating effects of fire." 

Posted 26/06/12 by richard.hook@pavpub.com