First aid training learned through Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service’s Crucial Crew scheme helped two Diss youngsters stay calm and get help when their friend had an accident.
Just a week after attending the South Norfolk Crucial Crew earlier this month, Ricky Eakers took a tumble off his bike and cut his arm and leg while riding to school.
His twin brother Jack and their friend Archie Turner quickly remembered the valuable training they had had at Crucial Crew and were able to stay calm and seek help. One of the boys stayed with Ricky while the other went off to get help and stopped an ambulance at a nearby petrol station.
A passing lorry driver also stopped to help Ricky after the accident in Victoria Road and he was taken to hospital where he had three stitches in his knee and his arm and leg were bandaged.
The twins’ mum Sharon Eakers said: “There’s no doubt that Crucial Crew was invaluable. The boys were calm, didn’t try to move Ricky and worked as a team to look after him and get help. They went off to Crucial Crew only a few days before and didn’t expect their training to be put into practice quite so quickly. Thankfully, Ricky was wearing a cycle helmet or his injuries could have been a lot worse.”
The boys’ teacher at Diss Junior Academy, Patrick Miles, said: “Once Jack and Archie arrived at school they told me what had happened and said they knew what to do – stay calm, get help, reassure the injured party and not leave them alone- because of Crucial Crew. This shows what a valuable project Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service runs for our children.”
Jack and Archie were given medals in school assembly and Ricky returned to school after a couple of days.
Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Communities Committee, said: “This story highlights the important safety work undertaken by our fire and rescue service to help educate our young people and keep our communities as safe as possible. Crucial Crew has had many success stories over the years and it is great that so many partners are on board to work in collaboration with the service.”
Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service has been running Crucial Crew since 2003 and more than 60,000 Norfolk school children have taken part across all the county’s districts.
Multiple agencies are involved in delivering workshops to pupils in Year Six including Norfolk County Council, St John Ambulance, Norfolk Constabulary and HM Coastguard. Topics the children learn about include water and fire safety, first aid, internet and electrical safety, smoking awareness and road safety.
Volunteers from the fire service and from local rotary clubs support NFRS staff to ensure the sessions can go ahead and run smoothly.
Norfolk County Council is encouraging the public to read www.norfolk.gov.uk/insafe hands and respond to the Police and Crime Commissioner’s consultation on governance of Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service. The consultation can be found here: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/NorfolkPCC-Case-for-Change
