Retirement Insight September 2013 Issue 39 | Page 3

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utumn
ALERT

The fire service is calling on residents to take steps to protect their loved ones this autumn. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is asking people to take action to prevent fires and help keep 999 calls low, keeping fire engines available to attend life threatening incidents.
More than 50% of fires attended by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue start in the kitchen, so people are asked to take particular care when cooking. This includes not leaving cooking unattended, never using a chip pa n and not attempting to cook after a night out. Other top tips for reducing your risk of fire include:

We have two centurions to celebrate in this edition who both reached their 100th birthday in April. Our congratulations go to Vincent Robinson whose birthday was on 19th April, and to Eric Clarke who reached his 100th on 22nd April. Vincent started work at South Kirkby colliery when he was just 14 years old. At 16 he left to join the army, serving in Egypt, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. He later met and married the local midwife in Grimethorpe where he became a plasterer, regularly cycling to Hemsworth in all weathers, carrying the tools of his trade, until the day he retired. Until he was 90 Vincent enjoyed a daily swim and a 4 mile walk around Grimethorpe woods. Pictured above, Vincent now lives in a residential home in Shafton but still continues to exercise regularly as he has done for the last 20 years. Eric, a Bomber Command veteran, was honoured with a military award, a fly past by a Lancaster bomber and enjoyed a civic reception in Doncaster’s historic Mansion House, at which he was presented with the Bomber Command clasp by the president of the Royal Air Force Association, Air Marshall Sir Dusty Miller. Way back in 1940 Eric volunteered for Bomber Command and was accepted as a wireless operator and air gunner. He was promoted to flight lieutenant during World War Two before becoming an instructor at RAF Finningley. After the war he helped set up the Doncaster branch of the RAF Association. Our picture shows Eric on the day after his birthday when he was a guest of the RAF Flying Club, Waddington, who treated him to a flight.

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• Not placing candles next to anything flammable, like curtains and furnishings. • Never smoking in bed. • Switching electrical items off at night.
Working smoke alarms are the best way of making sure you have time to get out of the house if a fire starts. They should be fitted on every level of your home and tested weekly.

If you do have a fire, get out of the house, stay out and call 999.
To sign-up for free smoke alarm test reminders, by email, text or tweet, visit pressthebutton.co.uk Or for more fire safety advice call 0114 253 2314 or visit www.syfire.gov.uk

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