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Girl aged seven praised after halting spread of house fire
Giorgia Hansel-Hides, from Kiveton Park, and her parents with Acting Superintendant Gwyn Thomas (South Yorkshire Police) and Diane Malpass (South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue)
A SOUTH Yorkshire girl has been praised by firefighters for following safety advice she learned at school and preventing the spread of a fire in her home.
Giorgia Hansel-Hides, aged seven, of Kiveton Park, Rotherham, was given advice on how to reduce the risk of fires breaking out in homes and how to prevent the spread of flames when firefighters visited her school.
And soon afterwards a fire broke out in the lounge of her home after a candle was left burning.
But Giorgia’s bedroom was the only room in the house not to suffer serious smoke damage because of a tip she picked up at school - always to close her bedroom door at night.
Closing the door stopped the smoke filtering into her room and damaging all her belongings, including toys and clothes.
The youngster was awarded a certificate from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and South Yorkshire Police community safety departments at a presentation night held at the Lifewise Centre, in recognition of her ‘excellent fire safety awareness’.
Giorgia’s mum Andrea Hansel-Hides said: “We are very proud of Giorgia.
“After the school visit by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue she was full of enthusiasm for what she had learnt and put that into practice in the home.
“I would certainly encourage parents to take precautionary messages on board because this sort of thing really can happen to anyone.
“If Giorgia had not made sure her bedroom door was closed that day, the damage to our home could have been much worse,” said her grateful mother.
Diane Malpass, of South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s Community Safety department, said the incident showed how essential it was to issue safety advice to people of all ages.
She said: “Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire and there wasn’t any need to call the fire service following the incident.”
But Giorgia’s actions demonstrate how important it is to educate people in precautions that they can take in the home to prevent fires starting or spreading.”
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Weather for Sheffield
Thursday 23 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: West
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Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 9 C
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