Newton Abbot Tory PPC Anne Marie Morris says education is the key to fire prevention

Newton Abbot’s Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Anne Marie Morris visited Newton Abbot’s fire station to meet  re fighters and talk about the issues they face fighting fires and saving lives.

Anne Marie met group manager Tony Jones and station commander Mark Palmer on the station’s training night.

During the visit Anne Marie was given a tour of the station and talked through some of the issues facing local fire fighters.

Newton Abbot fire station, on The Avenue, currently operates a retained fire service, which sees 23 fire fighters working part-time or on call. Emergencies are called through from the group centre in Exeter and responded to in one of the station’s two fire engines.

A Fire Cadet scheme – the only dedicated Fire Cadet scheme in Devon – is run from the station, which means that 12 to 16-year-olds have the chance to undergo fire training. Seventeen cadets are currently taking part in the scheme.

Anne Marie told the PRSD: “I was impressed by the sheer volume of work undertaken by fire fighters, who are keen that they spend time on preventing fires, rather than just responding to them when they happen.

“With this in mind, they want to see more of an emphasis on education, so that more people have an idea of how to prevent fires. Particularly pressing is the need to educate children from an early age. The Fire Cadets scheme is a logical extension of this and is positive in that it gives Newton Abbot fire station a chance to have a wider role in the town.”

Anne Marie and the crew spoke about the recent Ellacombe tragedy and the need for wider use of smoke alarms. The crew wanted to see working smoke alarms made compulsory before home insurance could be taken out.

She said: “The fire fighters in Newton Abbot want to see regulation in place to ensure that vulnerable people are protected by laws making it obligatory for landlords of social housing and foster carers to install and maintain smoke alarms and I agree with them.”

(from a press release)

(image: Newton Abbot Tory PPC Anne Marie Morris at Newton Abbot Fire station)

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