Bright spark creates safety game

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue will be delivering copies of Jake’s Safety Game to schools up and down the county to get them thinking about staying safe at home.

The board game was devised by Fire Community Support Officer Sarah Unwin, whose day job sees her educating the county’s youngsters at the Lifewise Centre in Hellaby.

More than 10,000 school children visit the centre every year and the game is part of the fire service’s commitment to ensure safety education continues beyond classroom and Lifewise visits.

Sarah said: “I’ve spent years visiting schools and talking to children about safety and was tasked with coming up with a game that would mean pupils’ learning could continue after the fire service visited.”

“I tested a prototype for the game on some of those children, plus members of my own family, and they loved it.”

“It’s great to see that my initial idea has now been turned into a proper, finished product,” she added.

Diane Malpass, head of community safety at the service, was full of praise for Sarah’s idea.

She said: “Sarah had a great idea, tested it properly on her audience and the feedback from teachers and pupils was great, so we decided to turn it into a polished product.”

“Safety education should continue all year round, not just when a member of the fire service visits school, and this game is one way we’ll be making sure that happens.”

For more information on staying safe in your home, visit the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue website at www.syfire.gov.uk