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Review of Falling Through Fire by Clifford Thompson FIRE Correspondent Catherine Levin reviews the latest fire autobiography, this time casting a light on mental health and wellbeing
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Firesetting conference to address gaps in practice
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Organisers report on the Cognitive Centre and Fabtic presenting a one-day, national firesetting conference entitled: “Exploring the Spectrum of Firesetting and Arson: Addressing Gaps in Practice Description” findings and treatment programmes can help empower practitioners to deliver more effective interventions. The conference provides a rare opportunity for all who work with children, adolescents and adults who set fires to come together, network and learn from practitioners who are pioneering in this specialist field.
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ractitioners across a range of services working with children and adults who set fires have long been frustrated by the absence of evidence-based programmes to support their risk-critical work. However, recent advances in this specialist field are enabling practitioners to transform their direct practice. This one-day conference explores these latest developments in the treatment of firesetting and arson. A range of guest speakers will discuss how their latest intervention tools, research
Practical Assessment and Intervention Strategies for the Management of Childhood Firesetting – Professor David Kolko Professor of Psychiatry,
6 | September 2017 | www.fire–magazine.com
about the Fire and Rescue Service that will be attracted to it (and hopefully buy it). I just worry it is yet another white, male, stereotypical portrayal of a heroic firefighter that does nothing to promote the wider reality of the modern Fire and Rescue Service. It is an easy read and for anyone who worked for London Fire Brigade in the 1980s and 1990s, it is sure to bring back memories. Post Grenfell it is a salutary reminder that while we must always learn from major incidents, they should not be the prompt to make progress and improvements, particularly when it comes to the mental health and wellbeing of all in our emergency services.
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anniversary of the King’s Cross fire, bringing attention to the recommendations relating to communications above and below ground. You can see the resulting BBC news item on YouTube. This part of the book is illuminating and having seen developments like Firelink since then, the interview is remarkably prescient. The section of the book focused on the US is less engaging and is a distraction from the more interesting material around major incidents in the UK; the later observations about the Ladbroke Grove train crash could have been developed more. And then there is the cover. Now that I have read the book, I can see why the publisher used this image. I am sure there are lots of people who know nothing
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King’s Cross fire. He is unflinching in his graphic descriptions of fire fatalities: this is not for the faint hearted. But this book is not really about documenting a firefighter’s experience. It is a journey to catharsis. Without wanting to give too much away, Thompson has spent the years since his early departure from LFB in 1992 trying to come to terms with what he experienced. It is a meditation on how the emergency services and others manage mental health and wellbeing and how that has changed over the decades to the positive messages seen today. These days Thompson works for the BBC and has a long career as a journalist behind him. Back in 2007, he interviewed Sir Desmond Fennell on the 20th
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came across this book via Twitter. I’d enjoyed reading Jo Reynold’s Fire Woman, in its Sunday night drama kind of way, but Falling Through Fire is not like that. Published on September 7, this is Clifford Thompson’s autobiography and his first book. He tells of his early experiences as a firefighter. He joined London Fire Brigade in 1985 at 19 years old. He desperately wanted to be a fireman (as he calls it) from a young age and shares some rose tinted views of his 1970’s childhood aided by Matchbox cars and Chopper bikes. He documents his seven years in the job, sharing some of the more mundane routines, but punctuating it with his exposure to the major incidents of the time: the Clapham rail crash and the
Psychology, Paediatrics and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh, Professor Kolko is recognised as a leading world authority on juvenile firesetting. Presenting nearly 40 years’ experience of working with children and adolescents who set fires form his latest firesetter guidance manual, published by the Oxford University Press, and provides the main discussion point of the conference. Why I Set Fires and the Reasons I Stopped At 12 years old, Jenny was referred to her local fire brigade for support in stopping setting fires. Now aged 18, Jenny looks back at why she set fires and what helped her to stop. During this Q&A session, Jenny will show the practical exercises and strategies she completed during her fire safety intervention.
Working with Adult Clinical Treatment Needs of Adult Firesetters – Professor Theresa Gannon Consultant Forensic Psychologist and Professor of Forensic Psychology and Director of the Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent, Professor Gannon will present the latest psychological developments relating to the theory, research and intervention needs of adult firesetters. Outlining two treatment programmes devised to reduce risk in adult firesetters, Professor Gannon will also discuss what needs to be done to improve both academic and client practice with adult firesetters. When: September 25. Where: Amba Hotel, Charing Cross, The Strand, London WC2N 5HX Cost: £345 + VAT. Book: tel: Cognitive Centre 029 20513048; or e-mail: wendy@ cognitivecentre.com