Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service engaged with around 1,500 people in total on Older People’s Day on October 1st, leading involvement by the fire and rescue service nationally in the campaign, which coincided with the UN International Day of Older Persons. On the day over 60 residents were welcomed to the Service’s headquarters in Winsford and treated to a VIP tour of its state-of-the-art training facility.

Visitors were given the opportunity to have a go at commanding an incident on screen. Several of the guests got the chance to squirt a hose including 90-year-old Hilda Jackson from Morningside in Winsford, who wore a firefighters helmet for the task.

Vintage and modern vehicles were also on display and the tour ended with tea and cake and a performance by sign language choir Dee-sign.

 In other areas of Cheshire fire crews, safety teams and technical fire officers were out and about completing more than 250 Home Safety Assessments, attending a number of community events for hundreds of older residents and auditing dozens of sheltered housing schemes.

Head of Community Safety, Evan Morris said: “Older People’s Day was a celebration of achievements and contributions that older people make to our society and to the economy and staff worked actively to provide help and advice on the day.

We are thrilled with the response we got from people who came to support the events and would like to thank everyone who came and made it a great day.”