Schoolchildren and celebrity chef join celebrations as new fire station officially opens

Firefighter Paul Rourke, Andrew Nutter and Nasima Khan

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Fire crew from Rochdale's White Watch were joined on duty by local celebrity chef Andrew Nutter and pupils from nearby Heybrook Primary School officially marked the opening of Rochdale's new Community Fire Station today (Thursday, March 20, 2014).

Winners of an art competition from the school unveiled an opening banner, applauded by around 100 people including GMFRS' County Fire Officer and Chief Executive Steve McGuirk, Chair of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority (GMFRA), Councillor David Acton, Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Peter Rush, and Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Peter Holland.

Councillor David Acton, Chairman of GMFRA, said: "We are really pleased to officially open up our newest community fire station and want to thank everyone involved in the project.

"The station allows firefighters to continue to respond to incidents effectively and build upon their community work, with new facilities including an internet café, a community room and garden.

"The station was designed to be environmentally friendly and is carbon neutral, which means that it is actually good for the environment."

A range of activities were on offer with Andrew Nutter, of Nutters Restaurant in Norden, and Nasima Khan from Castlemere Community Centre sharing their cooking tips while helping to keep people safe in the kitchen.

Nasima said: "To stay safe while cooking in the kitchen Asian clothes, such as scarves, should be removed or clipped back, as should long hair.

"Also cooking and pans of oil should never be left unattended as they can easily catch fire."

Judged by celebrity chef Andrew a pancake challenge took place between Nasima and Rochdale Firefighter Paul Rourke - with Nasima being crowned the Pancake Queen after the pair made a chocolate orange pancake.

Tours of the station were on offer and a demonstration showed people how quickly a sari could catch fire while cooking, bringing to life the risk posed by wearing loose clothing in the kitchen. Fire safety officers talked through what you should do if cooking or clothing catches fire, teaching schoolchildren the Stop Drop and Roll technique.

Deputy Lieutenant Mrs Vivien Carter, Mayoress Monica Rush, Rochdale's White Watch, Station Manager Andy Bracken and Borough Manager Paul Starling attended the event, along with GMFRA Members Deputy Chairman Cllr John Bell, Cllr Shaun O'Neill, Cllr Amna Mir and Cllr John O'Brien.

Many retired GMFRS members also made an appearance, including ex-Deputy Chief Fire Officer 83-year-old Don Liddle, who retired in 1982 and is grandfather to Firefighter Paul Rourke who took part in the pancake challenge.

Project Manager for the build of the new fire station, Matt Taylor, said: "GMFRS' Rochdale Borough Headquarters is also based at the site, which has solar panels and uses recycled water.

"It is carbon neutral with an A+ Energy Performance Certificate and the site is now better for the environment than it was before the station was built there.

"The project has been very successful and we are now looking forward to beginning new Wigan Community Fire Station project."

Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Peter Holland, presented Tahmina Suma (age 9) and Jasmina Khatun (age 11) with a certificate and Kindle Paperwhite after they were picked as winners of the competition, that focused on keeping the community safe.

All of the children had a fantastic day and Jasmina and Tahmina were excited to unveil the opening banner.

Jasmina said: "I had a really nice day and enjoyed pressing the button to bring down the banner. I learnt a lot too, like what you should do if there is a fire."