CHIEF FIRE OFFICER BECOMES A HEART KID
| Published: 15th July 2008 21:00 |
CHIEF Fire Officer Graham Stagg will personally urge young people to give up their unhealthy obsession with fire, arson and hoax calls - in his new identity as Watch Manager Strong.
The chief has allowed his image to be transformed into a cartoon character to be used in the Child Whispering scheme, launched by the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service in May this year.
Graham's character will be used alongside the rest of the ‘Heart Kids' who help to influence and guide young people through difficult moments in their lives - Essentially a ‘Sat Nav' for young people and their emotions.
The Heart Kids urge children to use a colour-o-meter to communicate honestly about their feelings and behaviour, with red symbolising fear, anger and greed, and green symbolising kindness, love and compassion.
They feature in DVDs, playing cards, certificates, newspapers and fire escape plans that are used as learning aids to support the scheme.
Graham said: "In the early stages when we were looking into the idea, I took the colour-o-meter home with me and showed it to my children who were really taken with it.
"So when I was approached by the Child Whispering team and asked if I would allow my image to be transformed into a character, I had no objection.
"My children think it's great and it's good to see they've taken a few years off me too!"
The scheme aims to get young people communicating with a member of the fire service, through the use of the colour-o-meter. Once they are communicating honestly, the questions can become more progressive, such as "How would you feel if someone died because of a fire that you started?"
This in-direct questioning gives good results, as it allows young people of all age ranges, abilities and different levels of concentration and confidence, a clear and simple way of communicating their feelings. It also enables our personnel to really get to the bottom of their behaviour and try to understand the reasons behind their actions.
Wendy Coleman, Community Safety Coordinator, said: "We thought it would be a great idea to have a member of CFRS incorporated into the Heart Kids and their supporting characters and Graham was the obvious choice."
Each year, an average of 100 children are flagged up to the Service by worried parents or other agencies.
Some have already started a pattern of negative behaviour, such as playing with matches or lighters, starting fires outside their home deliberately or making hoax calls. Others have shown an unhealthy interest in these activities.
The concept was introduced to Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) by Sandy Kennedy of Child Whispering Ltd. The scheme is now being used by the Service and is already having very positive feedback, both by the young people involved and their parents and guardians.
Following a showcase conference in May, other fire and rescue services have expressed an interest in adopting the learning materials too.
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