Pupils from nearly 40 schools fought it out for the right to be crowned 'Fire Safety Champions of Shropshire' with a team from Oswestry School taking the honours in the quiz finals last week [27 Apr].

Teams of four pupils representing nine schools were at Shropshire Fire & Rescue's Telford Central Station for the final after winning through regional heats involving hundreds of Year 7s [11-12 year-olds] from across the county over the past few weeks.

The winners, who just edged out teams from Bridgnorth Endowed School and Shrewsbury High School, received a £500 cheque for sports equipment for their school as well as £20 gift vouchers for each pupil.

As well as researching facts that had been compiled in the 'Be Cool Stay Safe' magazine including the fact that there are 30,000 hoax fire calls in the UK each year, pupils also had to race against the clock to put on fire kit including helmet, jacket, trousers and boots.

Quiz organiser and SFRS Crew Manager Charlie Cartwright said: "The youngsters had a lot of fun and most importantly learned some very useful potentially lifesaving information to help keep them safe.

"I believe we have helped the young people of Shropshire become safer and the knowledge they have gained will keep them safe for the rest of their lives."

The quiz has been running throughout Shropshire for 10 years with over 50,000 young people taking part since it started - for more information and to enter next year visit  www.becoolbesafe.co.uk 

Posted 02/05/2012 by richard.hook@pavpub.com