A team representing New Addington Pathfinders have walked away as winners at Croydon’s fifth annual ‘All Ages Family Safety Challenge’ quiz finals.
The challenge was designed by the London Fire Brigade’s ‘Crossfire’ team and is backed by the Crystal Palace FC Foundation. Prizes were donated by locally-born businessman, Barry Paull.
It is organised and supported by the council’s housing department and the young people’s specialist engagement team. This year, for the first time, the London Ambulance Service also took part.
It makes learning about all aspects of household safety both interesting and fun and covers a variety of topics including fire safety, first aid, road safety, and water safety.
The quiz includes questions on everything from fire escape plans and the recovery position, to internet safety and protecting against arson.
There was also race to see who could be the fastest-dressed firefighter, with competitors working against the clock to get into protective clothing as quickly as possible as if they were responding to a fire call.
A further test challenged teams to show how they knew the correct way of dealing with someone if they found them unconscious and not breathing.
The challenge is growing in popularity every year, and the Pathfinders beat off stiff competition from 47 other teams across the borough to take part in the finals in a the packed council chamber. In total some 1,300 people of all ages have this year taken part in 90+ community events as part of the project.
“The Pathfinders team were worthy victors and really took the challenge seriously – as did every team who entered. That said, it has also been a fun experience with an opportunity to meet people of all ages from right across the borough as well as sharing a really valuable series of safety lessons.”
Councillor Alison Butler, deputy leader and cabinet member for homes, regeneration and planning
[feather_share]
David Gill from London Fire Brigade’s Crossfire team said: “Having a plan for what to do in the case of a fire and knowing some basic first aid are all life-saving skills, and this challenge helps us to teach hundreds of people every year how to stay safe in their homes. It’s a great project and has undoubtedly helped prevent some potential tragedies.
“The aim of this is to illustrate that the awareness of safety in households is not always just the responsibility of the adults and that the whole family can work together to improve their awareness of safety issues.”
The challenge is open to community groups based in or near any of Croydon’s larger council housing developments and it is planned to run again next year.
