Words: Chris Young, local democracy reporter
Fire safety advice that proved life saving for one Pudsey family will be offered to all children in West Yorkshire from this year.
In November fire crews were called to a house in Pudsey after a hoverboard that had been left charging exploded, causing a house fire.
The blaze trapped three children on the first floor of the house.
The fire service says tragedy was averted due to the children remembering advice given to them by firefighters who had visited their school.
Recalling the advice they were given during the visit, they closed the bedroom door, closed the gap on the door with blankets and opened the windows to allow in air and call for help.
The children were taken to hospital as a precaution, but suffered no serious injury.
At a meeting of West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s Community Safety Committee on Friday, firefighters praised the young people, holding them up as an example of how important school visits are.
And they told members – made up of the five West Yorkshire Councils – that this advice would now be offered to many more children.
A report to members said:
“In a scary, smoky situation, it would be easy to freeze and panic if you were an adult let alone a child. However, these exemplary young people remembering the WYFRS fire safety education package delivered to their School by Leeds District Crews remained calm and measured.
“The older child within this setting previously took part in one of our Year five education talks which covers exactly what actions to do in this scenario – It is good to see this making an actual difference in what would have been a scary situation.”
It said the service was currently investigating the dangers of hoverboards and other devices that use similar batteries.
Scott Donegan, area manager for prevention and response, told the committee, said of the three children:
“They knew exactly what to do – they followed guidance perfectly and when we arrived at the house they had got themselves into a safe place. It just goes to show how education in schools is really important in saving lives.”
He said the service currently engages with Year 5 pupils in West Yorkshire schools, offering fire safety advice. He added: “We are now expanding that to include every young person in primary school. We hope it will build ongoing and lasting relationships.”
Members heard that the advice would be tailored to the different age groups.
Councillor Mike Pollard (Cons, Baildon) said: “This was a case where these young people did really, really well.”