New life-saving rescue equipment installed in Newcastle parks
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service are teaming up with Newcastle council - to try and prevent drowning in the city's open water
New rescue lines have been installed across Newcastle's parks - to help prevent drowning in the city's open water spaces.
The council and Tyne and Wear Fire service are working together on the campaign - which has seen 24 of the life saving devices put in place near bodies of water.
Newcastle City Council has invested in 24 new throw lines, which can be used to pull people from the water in an emergency, in parks across the city which have a body of water.
The council is joining forces with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service to raise awareness of the new safety lines during Drowning Prevention Week (14-21 June).
The new additions welcomely strengthen a network of 43 throwlines available to the public across Tyne and Wear including 14 on the Newcastle Quayside, four in Sunderland and one at the Hebburn Tri Station in South Tyneside.
Drowning Prevention Week (DPW), delivered by the Royal Life Saving Society UK, aims to target families, carers, teachers and instructors of children aged five to fifteen years old with the goal of educating them about the importance of water safety.
Cllr Alex Hay, Deputy Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “We’re incredibly fortunate in Newcastle to have the fantastic parks that we do, but while they’re great places to visit, there are risks involved with being around water, which is true of anywhere you go.
“We’ve funded this life-saving equipment previously at the Quayside, but there are of course other bodies of water across the city in places that residents and visitors alike love to spend their time in. It’s brilliant to see they’ve already been well received by visitors speaking to our parks teams.
“I’m really pleased we’ve been able to make our parks safer for everybody with these throw lines, and it’s great to be working alongside our brilliant fire service to highlight the risks that people face around water.”
Tommy Richardson, TWFRS Water Safety Lead, said: “Throughout Tyne and Wear we have some fantastic parks, which host a number of beautiful ponds and boating lakes. But unfortunately people are known to get a little bit too close to the edge where they can slip, trip and fall into these bodies of water.
“This is an essential piece of equipment throwlines that anyone can access to help safely rescue somebody out of the water.
“It is great news for the residents and visitors to Newcastle’s parks that additional water safety measures have been put in place just in case any unforeseen accidents were to happen. The throw lines are easy to use and could be the defining factor that saves someone’s life.”
The throwlines can be operated in an emergency by dialling 999, asking for the fire service, and giving the location number provided on the information board accompanying the throw line. The call operator will then provide the code to unlock the throw line.
TWFRS also delivers free throwline / throw bag training to local riverside based businesses through the “Waterside Responder Scheme” in association with the RNLI Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
For further water safety advice, please visit the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service’s website.
People can also visit the official website of the Royal Life Saving Society UK for additional information about Drowning Prevention Week.