Fire Reach course could be rolled out to adults too

The Fire Reach course, featured in the Advertiser’s January 5 issue, gave ten S3 pupils at Hermitage Academy the chance to find out more about the fire service and learn leadership, team-working and communication skills.

And the man behind that course is now looking at making it available to adults as well.

Barrie McCutcheon, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s community liaison officer in Helensburgh and Lomond, told a meeting in Helensburgh that the young people’s course – the first of its kind in Argyll and Bute – had been such a success that the service is now looking to see if it can benefit others too.

Mr McCutcheon has identified the Kirkmichael area of Helensburgh – which suffers from a higher incidence of social problems than many other parts of Argyll and Bute – as potentially being suitable for an adult version of the course.

Mr McCutcheon told the Kirkmichael Community Development Group’s annual meeting: “We worked closely with Hermitage Academy on the first Fire Reach course, selecting ten pupils who were perhaps disengaged or who deserved a reward for showing improvement.

“The Fire Reach programme develops physical and mental capabilities such as team leadership skills, self-discipline, communication skills, knowledge and awareness of the community and the fire service, first aid skills and community safety.

“I’m now looking to develop the course for particular groups of adults, such as those who are looking to get back into work or who are on the path to recovery from substance misuse.”

The Hermitage Academy pupils who took part in the area’s first Fire Reach course all received a Dynamic Youth Award for successfully completing the programme, which included instruction in fire-fighting equipment and a visit to the much larger Cowcaddens fire station near Glasgow city centre. The course also aimed to help pupils develop an understanding about the contribution of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and other agencies to the local community.

It attracted high praise from the pupils who took part and from their parents as well as from the partner agencies involved.

Mr McCutcheon said he also planned to look at how a qualification, for example in first-aid or IT, could be added to the proposed adult version of the course to give participants something extra to show for their efforts.

“I’m looking for advice from other partners on how exactly to run the course,” he said, “but the basics of it are there. It’s just about making sure it’s appropriate for adults.”