Firefighter Training to Keep Teens Fit

Teenagers are being given a chance to find out how to keep fit and eat healthily by firefighters in Lowestoft.

The Fire, Fighting, Fit project is a partnership between Suffolk Fire and Rescue and NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney to offer ten free sessions to teenagers who are above their ideal weight.

Kitted out in firefighters’ uniforms and given a free firefighters t.shirt, the youngsters get to try some of the crew’s training and learn about healthy eating.

The sessions are starting in March for eight weeks at Lowestoft South Community Fire Station in Stradbroke Road, Lowestoft. Each session is held for two hours on a Wednesday night from 6pm to 8pm. Every teenager who completes the course will get a certificate.

Steph Edrich, MEND Programme Manager from NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney, said: “This is a really exciting programme for teenagers aged between 13 and 17-years-old who are above their ideal weight. They’ll be able to take part in fun sessions like crawling through tunnels and reeling in hoses as well as learn how to cook and eat healthy meals with a dietician from the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

“Fire fighters are great role models for youngsters who have to keep fit as part of their job. We’re able to provide the healthy lifestyle elements and the lessons in food preparation, label reading and behaviour change to help the youngsters maintain a healthy weight.”