





I am Matthew Daniels and have been a Young Firefighter for the last 18 months in Llanelli Fire Station. During my time as a Young Firefighter I have learned many skills such as how to slip and pitch a ladder as well as give the orders to put it up. I have also learned how to run out hoses, use a range of knots on the fire ground, operate a hydrant, operate a pump, operate a feather weight pump, and also search and rescue techniques when searching and working in a smoke filled building. I have also learned heart start which I think will help me a lot in life. We have been up to the control room in Llangunnor which was a really good experience. We were shown how the control operators deal with 999 calls and how the system works. The system showed us how the operators can choose a number of resources like pumps, rescue units like boats and also aerial appliances. It showed the nearest appliances which were available, and also the Firefighters and officers which were on duty. We were also part of an exercise up in Carmarthen, where there had been an RTC (road traffic collision) which include 2 cars and a bus full of passengers which was us. I really enjoyed the experience because it was an eye-opener to how the crews dealt with the incident.
As a group we bonded very well and once we were all competent at doing certain tasks we then moved on to combined drills which were very challenging and really made us work as a team. Some of the drills were made realistic like we had a house fire with persons reported and we had to build a dam and get water from another source like the river behind the station. After doing various exercises for weeks and we were all able to do them professionally we were informed by our Watch Manager that we were going to hold a presentation night so that we could show our families and County Officers what we have learned as Young Firefighters. The evening was successful and I felt very proud of myself and the watch. Also that evening I was promoted to Crew Manager and was given my stripes by the County Commander. Being promoted is one of my biggest and proudest achievements. My promotion meant that I had added responsibilities. These were organising the crew, taking charge of drills, making sure that maintenance of equipment was done properly and making sure that our pump was fully equipped. One of the reasons why I was promoted was because I showed good leadership qualities and when my crew was on the drill yard I continued to lead by example, and made sure that my team realised that working as a team was important.
My name is Adrian Evans, I’m 17 years old and have been in the Young Firefighters for 18 months so far, and I’m really enjoying it. During my time at Llanelli Fire Station, I have learned to operate lots of different equipment on the fire engine; we’ve had visits and demonstrations and have also been on a few trips.
One of the best things we have done so far was the camping trip in August 2007 at Pembrey Country Park in Llanelli. About 100 Young Firefighters and 30 instructors were to the park and it was brilliant.
The latest thing we have done so far is the ‘presentation evening’. This was when all of Llanelli’s Young Firefighters families came to the station to watch a demonstration.
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YFF’s performing Drills |
YFF’s presented with Good Conduct certificates |
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Jordanna & Elliott using seismic equipment |
YFF’s, Instructors, USAR members & Flam at the USAR Training Complex, Earlswood |
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Porth-y-Ogof Cave, Ystrafellte |
Mouse trap was never this difficult! |