Fire service is holding Virtual Open Day

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service is holding its first ever virtual open day on Wednesday (2 September). 

Every year, members of the public are welcomed by firefighters to fire station open days across the county.

But due to the ongoing pandemic, it's not possible this year so the service has moved it online and put together a virtual open day for people to enjoy.

A series of videos have been filmed to give people an insight into the service's work, its people, where they work and the equipment they use.

There's also a video which shows the work of Fire Investigation Dog Dexter, colouring sheets for young children, blogs from people working across the whole service, and an opportunity to ask questions.

Group Manager Nathan Stevens said: "Like many organisations, due to Covid-19 we have had to change the way we do things so we have put together a virtual open day to ensure our communities don’t miss out on the chance to meet us, see what we do, where we work and the equipment we use." 

Ten videos have been created and these will be posted to the service's website, YouTube channel and linked from Facebook and Twitter at their scheduled time. You can also follow the virtual open day on Instagram.

Group Manager Stevens went onto say: "In addition to giving an insight into who we are and what we do, we have also included an educational video for our younger audience. ‘The Fire Plan’ is an animated video featuring Dexter the fire investigation dog, to educate young children about fire safety. Not only is it fun, but it will leave children with an understanding of fire safety and how to keep safe.

"We’re really disappointed that we can’t invite people to our fire stations this year as we know how much everyone enjoys meeting our Firefighters, seeing what they do and asking lots of questions. We don’t want people to miss out on the opportunity to ask a question, so we will also be monitoring our social media channels throughout the day for any questions using the hashtag #FireServiceOpenDay

"We know it’s not quite the same as visiting us in person at a fire station, but a virtual open day does have its advantages – whatever the weather you can access all of our great videos from the comfort of your own home, or when on the move from you mobile device. However you join us, we look forward to welcoming you on Wednesday 2 September 2020." 

For more information about the day, what’s available and the full schedule of videos, including a brief summary of their content, visit https://www.derbys-fire.gov.uk/virtual-open-day-2020.