Pupils complete Community Leaders Fire Skills Programme

Five dedicated S3 pupils from the Garnock Valley have become 2026’s latest North Ayrshire recruits to complete the Community Leaders Fire Skills Programme.

Delivered in partnership with Garnock Valley Locality team, K:A Leisure and Garnock Community Campus, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s community training programme is a flexible course aimed at encouraging young people to gain confidence and learn practical first aid and fire safety skills.

Over the past four weeks, the recruits have taken part in a range of sessions based on firefighter drills where teamwork is at the heart of the unique learning experience.

Completing 35 hours training in total with professional firefighters at Kilwinning Fire Station, the pupils have learned a host of new transferable skills including:

• basic hose and hydrant drills
• first aid and CPR
• confidence and communication
• teamworking and leadership
• problem solving
• citizenship skills
• learning about the importance of community safety roles

They also had the chance to visit the National Scottish Fire and Rescue Training Centre in Cambuslang. Here they got to experience a series of training exercises that really tested their stamina and helped them to push through barriers to realise their strength and mental resilience.

The not-for-the-faint-hearted exercises included navigating through a simulated gas living room fire, surveying multiple vehicle wreckages and planning an escape through a daunting assault course with wired tunnels and challenging walkways.

At a recent drill and awards presentation, Ian Campbell, Local Area Liaison Officer from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service shared: “It was my pleasure to join the team at Kilwinning Fire Station to congratulate our first North Ayrshire Fire Skills recruits of 2026 who have absolutely given this course their all over the past month.

“This is a brilliant example of how we are working alongside local schools, communities and our locality partners working in them to champion and re-engage local young people. The feedback from our colleagues has been brilliant and we have been really impressed by the strength and determination of each and every pupil involved.

“During the drills, everyone took their responsibilities seriously, moved swiftly and safely and it really was a joy to see the culmination of everything they have learned on display for everyone to admire and celebrate.

“We are proud to work closely with our community partners to deliver this bespoke learning experience for young people aged between 12 and 18 who want to develop key skills in a practical setting and we’ll be welcoming care experienced young people from North Ayrshire alongside the Corporate Parenting team over the summer to take part in the programme too.

“It’s amazing to see the sense of fulfilment and increased confidence in the pupils having achieved the Community Leaders Fire Skills Programme. We also hope that the recruits now have an increased understanding of the important work that we do alongside other partnership agencies to keep the communities of North Ayrshire safe. Well done to everyone for their efforts and commitment, it’s been brilliant having you on board.”

On completion the pupils received an official Fire Skills Certificate and CPR/Defib Certificate. Visit the Fire Scotland website for more information of the courses available.

The intake of young people were identified by the Garnock Valley Locality team and KA:Leisure who have been working in partnership on an S3 Leadership programme with pupils from Garnock Community Campus.

The Garnock Locality team are part of the Council’s Community Learning and Development Service who are continuing to working closely with pupils to encourage them to take up volunteering and training opportunities beyond their schools.

The delivery of the course via the Kilwinning Fire Station’s Community Action team forms part of North Ayrshire’s Wellbeing Alliance and Local Outcomes Improvement Plan – a strategic plan and requirement under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.

This plan lays the foundation for the vital partnership working of agencies such as North Ayrshire Council, the Council’s Community Planning Partnership, K:A Leisure, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and more on locality actions laid out to improve the health, wellbeing and positive life outcomes of everyone living in North Ayrshire.

Feedback has been great with the pupils sharing:

• “I am really calm under pressure now, I can’t believe I’ve done this.”
• “This is really good because it’s something that’s going to give me the edge on my CV.”
• “This course has made me so much more confident and I have been able to make new friends, people from school that I knew already but didn’t have the chance to be part of a team with. It’s been great.”

To find out more about community projects like this one in your area, contact your locality officer via: info@northayrshire.community

Published: 28 July 2026