Caddick Construction and the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has conducted safety talks with two local primary schools in York to raise awareness about the dangers of building sites and fire safety as construction continues at the new fire station.

Pupils from Fishergate and St Georges Primary School listened to a talk from Ben Pavis, Community Safety Officer from North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and Debbie Watson at Caddick Construction. Both schools learnt about the protective clothing that the firefighters have to wear when they are battling a blaze, plus the hard hats and hi-visibility jackets that must be worn by construction workers at all times on a site.

Both schools are situated close to the new site and Caddick Construction and the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service wanted to ensure that children were aware of the dangers lurking on the live construction site.

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Work began on site for the new York fire station on Kent Street in June this year. The station’s facilities will be significantly more energy efficient than the existing site on Clifford Street, plus it will provide more space for the vehicles and equipment needed by the teams in the city. The station will house a crewed fire engine and a rescue boat, additionally it will also include a fire safety office and a community room which local organisations will be able to use on a regular basis.

Andy Herbert, headteacher at Fishergate Primary School, said: "I would like to thank the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and Caddick Construction for coming into school to speak to the pupils. It was a great experience for the children to learn about fire safety first hand from the trained professionals."

Debbie Watson, Business Development Manager at Caddick Construction, said: "All of the pupils from both schools were brilliant and they learnt a lot from the talks. We wanted to get across to them the importance of safety not just on a building site but also basic fire safety when they are home."

Construction of the new fire station is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2014.

(CD/MH)