Visiting schoolchildren shown the ropes by firefighters

A group of 36 pupils from Belmont Community School, in Buckinghamshire Road, Belmont, were shown the ropes when they visited the station today.

It was part of Real Projects Week, which encourages the emergency services to get involved with schools.

Firefighters based at the station, in Durham city, set up workshops for the schoolchildren, demonstrating the likes of CPR, defibrillator use, fire safety and talked about the risk of drowning.

Watch manager, Gary Bankead, said: "We set up a series of workshops for them to get involved with and the project itself is aimed at emergency services and school children. It's an opportunity to give young people a feel for what the service is all about.

"We gave practical demonstrations of CPR and defibrillators and talked about the dangers of fire and of drowning in rivers, as well as giving a chip pan fire demonstration.

"The kids also had a chance to see where the 999 calls are taken and as part of the project they'll also be spending time with the police, army, and ambulance service."

He added: "It's all about showing them the day-to-day running of the service and also the requirements for getting into it, such as the fitness levels you have to reach to be a firefighter.

"For them, it was a chance to see what it's like to work for the fire service, as well as learning a valuable lesson in safety."