Troubled teenagers are to learn firefighting skills in a bid to prevent them starting fires.
Ten youngsters aged 13 to 17 are to join firefighting training so they better understand the repercussions of starting blazes.
The youngsters are to spend a week trying out hose running, ladder climbing, wearing breathing apparatus and learning basi
c first aid.
All the teenagers have been caught up in antisocial behaviour and crime or deliberately started fires in the past and are taking part in the Preventing Youth Offending Project in Portsmouth -
The activities are being staged as part of the first Life course organised by firefighters at Southsea Fire Station.
It stands for Local Intervention Fire Education and is a way of showing the teenagers what would happen if they were to start a small rubbish fire or torch a car.
The aim is to make them understand the effort firefighters put into responding to each call and how attending a deliberately-started fire could mean firefighters are not on hand to tackle a real emergency.
At the end of the course the teenagers will take part in a passing out parade and demonstrate the skills they have learnt during the week.
PYOP manager Kelly Wright said: 'These young people have been chosen because they have either been involved in offending or antisocial issues but have demonstrated a commitment to changing their behaviour.'
The full article contains 235 words and appears in NS-City newspaper.
