A peek behind the fire curtain

If you’ve ever wondered what life is like on a fire station, now is your chance.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) are inviting people from across the region to attend a number of open days at their stations in the coming months.

After two years of the pandemic, the doors are being opened to our region’s community fire stations to find out what goes into keeping our community safe.

It will give families an opportunity to meet firefighters, climb into an appliance, watch demonstrations and get some fire safety tips.

And today (Tuesday), TWFRS’s most senior firefighter is welcoming his community back into the fold.

Chief Fire Officer Chris Lowther said “I’m so pleased to be able to have open days this year, they are a great chance to bring the Service closer to our communities.

“For the last two years, we’ve not been able to have many people on station as we’ve had to keep our firefighters and staff safe from Covid-19 but as we are now on the other side, let’s get back to normal.

“We’ve had lots of new recruits who’ve not had many opportunities to engage with the great people of the North East but now they do and we can’t wait.

“Hopefully we will see you at a fire station open day soon.”

Starting in South Shields on 21st May, you have the opportunity to find out more about the goings on at your fire station, get advice on fire safety and even get the chance to sign up and get involved in cadets and as a TWFRS volunteer.

To help our event be inclusive as possible, there will be a quiet hour between 2pm-3pm for families that need it. This means that there won’t be any sirens on site during this time to help provide as quiet an atmosphere as possible.

Tynemouth and Marley Park will also be having open days later in the year.

Keep up to date with the information for the next open days on TWFRS’s social media pages.

There is no onsite parking during our open days.