On Wednesday 1st May, some of Holly class visited the Fire station in New Addington. We have been learning about people who help us, and one of the books we have been looking at is a story about Charlie the Firefighter, so we thought we would find out what firefighters do in real life. As we travelled to the fire station, we talked about who helps us on the bus – the bus driver who drives carefully to keep us safe. We all made sure we said thank you when we got off at the end. The firefighters were really pleased to see us even though they had had a busy morning putting out fires all over London. We went for a ride on the fire engine and Dan the firefighter put the blue flashing lights and the siren on for us. We used the hoses to squirt water as far as we could. We learnt about all the different equipment they have on the fire engine – we tried to lift the massive scissors called the jaws of death and it took all of us to be able to lift them up! Ben the firefighter could lift them up with one hand. Firefighters have to be very strong to help us. Mrs Harwood tried on the firefighters uniform. She said it was very hot and very heavy. We all tried the helmet on and it was very big. Eamon and the rest of Red Watch were very kind and helpful, and helped us find out what the job of a firefighter really means. 
The firefighters also said that if parents from Courtwood contact them, they are happy to come and fit smoke alarms in their homes to keep everyone safe.