Pupils ignite local campaign to tackle grass fires
Date Published: 10/04/2012
A recent talk on the dangers of grass fires to year 5 and 6 Pupils from Tylorstown Primary School really hit the spot.
The visit was arranged when a teacher contacted local PCSO Rebecca Evans, after children at the school took it upon themselves to design posters for the community to raise awareness about the terrible impact fires can have in the areas they live.
The PCSO and two Fire Wardens, Doniker Churches and Lloyd Price, descended on the school on April 3rd to educate the children about the dangers of grass fires and the adverse environmental impact they can have.
Campaign messages were driven home using a short film which is delivered as part of Operation Bernie, an initiative led by South Wales Fire and Rescue to reduce deliberate grass fires through education.
The school children even got the rare chance to wear a real fire fighters uniform, to feel for themselves the heavy equipment fire fighters have to wear – sometimes for as long as 12 hours - when tackling grass fires.
PCSO Rebecca Evans said: “It was so refreshing to hear that children took it upon themselves to do something for the community. The message about grass fires must be getting through, because the problem of grass fires had already hit home. I got straight on the phone to the Fire Service to arrange the visit, which was really enjoyable for them all.
“The next step now is to get the posters displayed across the local community to ensure the message gets through to lots of other people.”
The pupils pledged to display the posters they designed across their community. They’ll all be entered into a competition to win a Bernie-branded hooded top.
Two teenagers were arrested recently in connection with what is believed to be a deliberate fire in Porth, which caused significant damage to local houses.