Issued on: Tuesday 3 December 2019

Celebrate Safely Winners 2019 Announced

This year’s Celebrate Safely competition winners were announced at a special event held at Central Fire and Rescue Station at the weekend.

The competition, saw Year 2 and Year 6 primary school pupils across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland design a bonfire and fireworks safety poster.

Wayne Gale, Station Manager at Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are delighted at the level of entries this year and are really impressed with how the children have incorporated the Celebrate Safely messages in their safety posters.

“Each year we run a competition to try and get primary school children to think about some of the key safety messages around this time of year. By creating a poster, it is a great way for them to think about staying safe during the festive period.

“We hope that by taking part the children will share these messages with their friends and family, encouraging them to stay safe.”

The Celebrate Safely campaign runs from the beginning of September to the New Year, and aims to provide advice to communities on staying safe during the many celebrations and events at this time of year.

It involves Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council, Rutland County Council and the district and borough councils.

A panel of judges from each of the organisations involved picked winners and runners up, as well as an overall winner for the city and county.

The winners and runners up, along with their family and teachers were invited to the event, to meet the Celebrate Safely team. They were also treated to a rescue demonstration by firefighters and were able to look around emergency service vehicles, before being presented with their awards.  

Seven lucky winners received a Celebrate Safely trophy, tickets to local attractions and a goody bag, as well as having their winning poster framed.

The seven runners up also received a trophy, goody bag and their framed poster.

Winners included;

  • Kiera Starmer (Year 2) and Caelia De’Soussa (Year 6) from Marriott Primary School
  • Kush Pandya (Year 2) and Mitanshi Naresh (Year 6) from Mellor Community Primary School
  • Zoya Sarfraz (Year 2) from Coleman Primary School
  • Tilly Bentley (Year 2) from Thrussington CE Primary School
  • Mohini Harding (Year 6) from St Peters CE Primary Academy

Runners up included;

  • Chimkasimma Mbolu (Year 2) and Hana Ahmad (Year 6) from Marriott Primary School
  • Anaya Gowrishanger (Year 2) and Ananya Pankhania (Year 6) from Mellor Primary School
  • Khadeeja Patel (Year 2) from Coleman Primary School
  • Daniella Bains (Year 2) from Thrussington CE Primary School
  • Maria Pointon (Year 6) from St Peters CE Primary Academy

Year 2 winner Tilly Bentley of Thrussington CE Primary School was also crowned overall winner for the county and Year 6 winner Mitanshi Naresh from Mellor Community Primary School was crowned overall winner for the city. They both were awarded with a Celebrate Safely shield to take back to their schools.  

Wayne Gale, added: “As always, it was a hard competition to judge as there were many deserving winners, but I would like to thank everyone who took part.”

As well as the prizes for the winners and runners up, each participating school were entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a voucher for their school, which was kindly donated by ESPO. St Peters CE Primary Academy were announced the winners and will receive a £150 ESPO voucher.

Matt Selwyn-Smith, Head of Business Development and Growth for ESPO, said: “ESPO is pleased to be able to support the Celebrate Safely campaign and to help raise awareness across schools and communities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.”

Katie Hudson, Children and Young Persons Officer for Leicestershire Police, said: “It’s fantastic to see to many young people get involved in this competition. It’s clear that a lot of hard work has gone into it. The messages behind this campaign are important to everybody so I’m pleased to see that they now have a great awareness of fire safety and can pass this onto other family members and friends.”

For more information about the Celebrate Safely campaign, visit www.celebratesafely.com.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:
Interviews can be arranged through prior arrangement with Corporate Communications on the details below.

About the Service

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service provides emergency response, prevention and protection services from 20 stations across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Its headquarters is based in Birstall, Leicester.

During 2018/19, the Service attended 762 road traffic collisions, of which 125 were extrications from vehicles, in addition to ­2,569 fires. We carried out 6,746 home safety checks and fitted 4,790 smoke alarms. 279 schools were visited as part of the Service’s schools programme, delivering fire and road safety education to pupils. Staff organised or took part in 1,068 community safety events, promoting fire and road safety and arson prevention, and 134 Virtual Fatal Four (VF4) events as part of the Service’s young drivers’ road safety project. 

The Service’s prevention, education, enforcement and inspection programmes have resulted in significant reductions in the number of incidents. In the last ten years, fire-related incidents have reduced by over 30 percent. 

Contact:
Corporate Communications
Direct: 0116 210 5592
Corporate.communications@leics-fire.gov.uk

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