Youth fire safety top priority as multi-agency taskforce arrives in town to engage community and help solve nuisance fire concerns

Fire and Rescue NSW and the NSW Police Arson Unit have joined forces to bring a three-day fire safety program to Tamworth, ahead of the busy and potentially dangerous, summer holiday period.

New England and North-West Zone Commander Tom Cooper said Tamworth sits near the top of the state leaderboard for nuisance fires lit by youths and he hoped these information sessions would provide strategies to deal with the problem.

Apart from nuisance fires, Commander Cooper said another common cause of house fires was children cooking.

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Starting at Peel High School on Tuesday, the team will also visit Hillvue Public School and The Youthie, and will host a community safety meeting with key stakeholders to share knowledge and discuss solutions to the issue of nuisance fires.

Fire and Rescue NSW Station Officer and Youth Coordinator for the Community Engagement Unit, Bronnie Mackintosh, said it was crucial for kids to understand their role in emergency management.

"We want to empower them with the knowledge and understanding of what risk is and how they can do a few things to better manage risk," she said.

Ms Mackintosh said because emergency services are not always able to meet the growing demand, it was important for residents to have access to critical information.

"We really need communities to start working more together, to be more connected, to manage risks themselves, to do more prevention and preparedness and to reduce the likelihood of emergencies," she said.

The program is the first of its kind in NSW, with hopes to roll it out across the state.

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