There has been a lot of news coverage in recent weeks about the wildfires in Los Angeles, California and the terrible damage they have caused both to wildlife and residents in these areas, many of whom have very sadly lost their homes and all their belongings. 

We have been talking about this in class, focussing on the real dangers the firefighters are facing each day to bring the fires under control, risking their lives to save others. To develop this discussion and link it to potential careers, we thought it would be a fantastic idea to invite our local firefighters, the London Fire Brigade, to school to talk about their work, what it is like to be a firefighter and what you need to do if you think you would like a career in firefighting.

We had prepared a full day of lessons to explore topics such as the Great Fire of London, Health & Safety at home and the workplace and research about the London Fire Brigade.

We downloaded some activity sheets from the London Fire Brigade website to use in class to do and to spark discussion around the role of firefighting.  

There was much excitement in the morning as we waited for the team to arrive just after lunch all kitted out in their uniforms, together with the fire engine, a little late, having just been out on a job!

The firefighters talked to the students about how they became firefighters and how the fire engine works, showing them all the equipment and invited them to ask questions and climb in the cabin if they wanted to so they could get a real sense of what it is like inside the fire engine going out on call - which of course they all did.

The students were very engaged and asked some very interesting questions, such as what their uniform/clothes were made of and how much it costs to run a fire engine ~ Georgie, year 11

- at the end of the visit Georgie said he wanted to become a firefighter.

Dylan, year 7, said "I want to be a fireman" too!

 

We cannot thank the firefighting team at the London Fire Brigade enough for making the time to come to see us, as we know that they are incredibly busy and have such an important job to do. We may now have more of an appreciation of their hard work keeping us all safe!

Here are a couple of links you may wish to have a look at with your child at home:

• Find out all about London Fire Brigade

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/about-us/

• Career -  Become a Firefighter

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/careers/

• History and Stories:

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/museum/london-fire-brigade-history-and-stories/