Children presented with prizes

Ben, Daniel and Ella with Borough Manager Tony Lander in the white shirt and other members of the crew and fire safety team

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Winners of a children’s drawing competition at Heywood Fire Station were delighted to be presented with certificates by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) staff.

Rochdale Borough Manager Tony Lander gave certificates to the three youngsters when they visited the station on Friday, September 21, to meet the crews and collect their prizes.

Ben Mills, aged seven, Daniel Lomax, aged nine, and Ella Thompson, also aged nine, were each presented with laminated copies of their artwork and a certificate, as well as a £25 cinema voucher.

They attended with their parents to collect their prizes and speak to the crews and members of the community fire safety teams before being shown around the station, some of the equipment and the fire engines.

Ella, a pupil at St Peter’s C of E Primary School in Rochdale, said: “They told me that my drawing was very good so I’m really happy that I won. I’m going to take my picture and certificate into school for show and tell.”

The competition was held at Heywood’s Open Day  when hundreds of people flocked to the station to enjoy entertainment, refreshments and games.

About 200 youngsters entered the competition in two age groups: under sevens and seven plus.

Daniel, a pupil at Hopwood County Primary School in Heywood, said: “I just drew what I saw – I looked up and could see the Urban Search and Rescue fire engine and the top of Simon Snorkel behind it.

“I remember learning the safety messages when the firefighters visited our school and gave a talk so I included a safety tip in my drawing too.”

Station Manager Ian Tracey said: “The Open Day was blessed with sunshine from start to finish which meant that we had more than 1,000 visitors coming onto the station premises.

“The community benefited from seeing a number of operational appliances including the Water Incident Unit, Operational Support Unit, Small Incident Unit, the aerial appliance and the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) vehicle.

“We also had children’s rides, face-painting, ice-cream and the chip pan safety unit being demonstrated to highlight to the public the dangers of using chip pans.”

One of the visitors to the Open Day was 92-year-old Alice Tetlow who was born in one of the fire station houses at the back of the old Heywood Fire Station where her father and grandfather worked, and is the grandmother to one of Heywood’s current firefighters.

There were also stalls from partner agencies including The British Heart Foundation, Greater Manchester Police Crime Reduction, Rochdale Council Road Safety Unit, Rochdale Council Sports Arena and the GMFRS Fire and Rescue Service Museum.