GB boxers urge people to hit their alarms

Members of Great Britain’s Olympic boxing team are the latest to back the fire service’s latest safety drive, Press the Button.

The young men and women from the GB Boxing squad have thrown their weight behind the campaign, which calls on residents to make sure their smoke alarms work.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s free service gives residents regular reminders to test their smoke alarms, after fresh figures revealed thousands of people in South Yorkshire fail to regularly check theirs.

Firefighters have been to dozens of house fires in the last three years where the alarm battery was either missing or flat, putting people’s lives at risk.

European Champion Lisa Whitehead, said: “As elite athletes in a demanding contact sport, we know how important it is to look after ourselves. We think it’s just as important for people to take steps to look after themselves and their loved ones and that’s why we’re backing this campaign to make people safer. We encourage as many people as possible in South Yorkshire to sign-up.”

All four members of GB Boxing’s Olympic squad, who all train at the world class English Institute of Sport, Sheffield (EIS Sheffield), have leant their support to the campaign.

Kevin Ronan, head of community safety at SYFRS, added: “Only working smoke alarms save lives. We know how easy it is to forget to test your batteries, but by signing up to this free service we promise to give you a regular, gentle reminder which may one day save your life.”

Smoke alarms should be tested ideally once a week. To sign-up to the reminders visit www.pressthebutton.co.uk