Scouts from the 68th Leicester and 7th Sutton Coldfield Scout Troops participated in a live fire demonstration from Chubb Fire Training Officer Bob Middleton.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s Hinckley Fire Station played host to a party of some 15 local Scouts, visiting the station to complete their Chubb Fire Safety badge.

29th May 2008

On Thursday 29th May, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s Hinckley Fire Station played host to a party of some 15 local Scouts, visiting the station to complete their Chubb Fire Safety badge with a live fire demonstration.

The badge requires Scouts to understand what causes a fire, how to call the Fire Brigade, how to understand fire blanket and extinguisher usage, as well as fire safety for the home. In addition to a tour of the station, Scouts from the 68th Leicester and 7th Sutton Coldfield Scout Troops participated in a live fire demonstration from Chubb Fire Training Officer Bob Middleton.

Since part of the badge requires Scouts to be able to recognise various fire extinguishers, and know what kinds of fire they should be used on, the demonstration offered the Scouts a unique hands-on experience, with the opportunity to try using fire extinguishers and fire blankets on a live fire in a controlled environment.

To date, more than 50,000 Scouts have received the Chubb Fire Safety Badge, making it one of the most popular of all scouting badges. Last year Chubb Fire renewed its three-year sponsorship deal with The Scout Association, including the provision of new educational literature and posters, to more than 7,200 local Scout Troops across the UK, as well as practical help from the company’s nationwide network of offices and engineers.

Andy Mitchell, Chubb Fire’s Sales and Marketing Director, explains: “Our expertise in the field of fire safety means that we can really offer The Scout Association some practical assistance in running the scheme. Each year our engineers service over four million extinguishers in the UK and we are keen to get involved in working with the Scouts and the community on a local level.”

Andy added: “The importance of fire safety simply cannot be emphasised enough, it is a sad fact that over 14,000 people are killed or injured each year in fires in the UK, which very often are preventable. The Fire Safety Badge offers the Scouts some invaluable advice on fire prevention, detection and escape routes should a fire break out, so it is great to see so many young people participating in this badge, and hopefully taking away some vital knowledge to help keep them safe from fire in years to come.”