Help keep kids abroad safe
VOLUNTEERS TO PASS ON ADVICE
NOT satisfied with just saving lives on his own doorstep, Andy Brice is taking his caring nature global.
The intrepid firefighter is planning a trip across the world to keep children safe from disasters.
Andy, 38, is swapping South Shields Fire Station for Uganda to teach schoolchildren and teachers how to protect themselves from potentially-fatal infernos.
Andy, from Boldon, South Tyneside, said: “The problem we have is, because of the distance from the kids’ homes to their schools, a lot of the schools are boarding schools – the dormitories are rampacked with bunk beds.
“They’re only meant to be two high, but in some schools it’s three high.”
Electricity in the country cuts out at night, resulting in youngsters using kerosene lamps for light, which can become fire hazards. Andy said: “It’s a recipe for disaster.” To make matters worse, Andy says the doors of the dormitories are sometimes locked at night for the children’s safety.
But it also means they cannot always escape if fire breaks out.
Now, Andy is teaming up with Community Safety Uganda alongside four other firefighters. Ian Robertson, who set up the charity, said: “We are a UKbased registered charity and have been working in Uganda for 10 years.
“We don’t give any funding only our expertise and knowledge.
“Fire service and ex-fire service personnel from across the UK give their time to teach fire safety in the schools to prevent fires, particularly in school dorms, which historically has been a problem causing many deaths and serious injuries.”
Andy and his colleagues intend to teach children in schools how to use candles more safely, and explain to them how to reduce the risks around fire.
They also hope to train police there as in rural areas of Uganda there is no fire service, which means police take on the role of firefighters too.
Dad-of-two Andy said: “The reason I joined the fire service was to help people, and we do get to do that in our day to day lives.
“But when I went to the meeting to be told about Uganda, there were just these pictures of little kids that literally had nothing.
“It really struck a chord. I thought, if I can’t give up two weeks of my time and some of the knowledge I’ve learned through my work, then what kind of person am I?”
Andy is trying to raise around £800 to help his mission. Visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/community-safety-uganda to support him.