Saffron Walden Town Council (SWTC) was delighted with the number of families who enjoyed the FREE Family activities in the Market Square last Friday.  Emergency services partners included: Essex County Fire & Rescue Service, Uttlesford Community Policing and Saffron Walden Community First Responders.  Excited children were given the go-ahead to climb aboard the emergency vehicles including the gleaming NEW fire tractor for Essex, get dressed up in police safety gear, practice CPR and stroke the rescue dogs!

Free face painting, storytelling and colouring along with the Essex Mobile Library bus were also part of the fun activities!

Said Tri-Service Rural Community Officer, Andrea Adams, “it was a great day, thank you for having us – we were delighted too that Technical Rescue & Watch Manager, Graham Currie could join the day along with rescue dogs; Jarvis, Bailey and Fizz.”

Following a field fire the previous evening, 6-year-old female Sprocker Spaniel, Fizz along with her handler Graham had already worked that morning until 2am, but both arrived ready to greet Saffron Walden residents at 10am.  A SWTC spokesperson added; “the fact that Graham and his dogs were still able to attend was very much appreciated”.

Fizz is trained in fire investigation to sniff out minute traces of accelerants at a fire scene proving, in some cases that the fire is arson – and hopefully linking a suspect arsonist to the incident and finding that crucial evidence for the police crime scene investigators to link the suspect to the fire. Fizz also assists neighbouring fire services; Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk when required, and can assist anywhere in the UK.

A Community Policing spokesperson added, “Officers from the community policing team were on hand to talk about local policing and crime prevention, offering advice and tips on staying safe, and recruitment information too.”

Mark Webb, Saffron Walden CFR Coordinator added, “Thank you for letting us showcase our work; we attend on average 30 calls per month in and around Saffron Walden and its villages, with calls ranging from Difficulty in Breathing to Cardiac Arrests and everything in between.”

Any feedback regarding the event can be sent to: events@saffronwalden.gov.uk