Shropshire's Fire Chief praises Shrewsbury Street Pastors
Shropshire’s Fire Chief has praised the work of Shrewsbury Street Pastor’s for the dramatic fall in drownings in the River Severn.
There have been no deaths in the “Shrewsbury loop” section of the river which runs through the medieval town centre since the Street Pastors took to the streets in November 2011. Previously there had been 29 deaths in the river since 2004.
Chief Fire Officer John Redmond praised the Street Pastors as he responded to their request to give them lifesaving tuition on how to safely rescue people who fall into the river late at night.
Firefighters are holding three 90 minute training sessions for 30 street pastors at the Frankwell Quay in Shrewsbury on September 9 at 7pm, September 15 from 11am to 1pm and September 24 from 7pm to 9pm.
The initiative was launched by the fire chief after he asked the organisation how Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service could help them in their bid to protect vulnerable people on the streets of Shrewsbury.
"The contribution from Street Pastors to community safety in the past 12 months has been immense,” said Mr Redmond.
“Our firefighters are pleased to help with their request to improve their water safety skills."
Street Pastor Coordinator Ian Horne said: “One of the main reasons why we were set up was to try and help reduce the number of river deaths in Shrewsbury town centre by identifying vulnerable people walking on their own.
“I watched a YouTube film of Street Pastors in Scotland learning how to throw rescue lines. We thought that has to be good for us to help people to remain safe so that we can rescue people if the need arises.
“This training will be invaluable as it will give us the option, if we need it, of helping someone without having to dive into the river. We do see people who are in danger of falling into the river because they are intoxicated. One young man was dancing on the Welsh Bridge and he could have toppled in at any time. “
Over the past two years, Street Pastors have cared for hundreds of youngsters, many worse the wear from drink and drugs, who stumble onto the streets from the town’s 30 plus bars and night clubs.
