EXTRA cash is being given to West Yorkshire Fire Service to help them target people most at risk from house fires.

West Yorkshire is one of three fire services sharing a £4.5m handout from the Government.

The cash will be split over three years.

If Parliament approves the plans, £900,000 of the cash will be available this year.

West Yorkshire Fire Service will get £134,626 of this.

The money has come from the Government's Community Fire Safety Innovation Fund, an initiative to prevent arson, promote fire safety and reduce the number of deaths.

The CFS fund is focusing on 11 fire authority areas identified as having residents most at risk of fire.

West Yorkshire is one of them.

Fire safety minister Phil Hope said: "The risk of being killed or injured in a fire does depend on where a person lives.

"About 40% of all accidental dwelling deaths occur in just 11 fire authorities with the highest fatality rates.

"Through the CFS Innovation Fund, we will focus resources on those 11 areas."

Evidence suggests that people in deprived communities are more likely to have an accidental fire in the home, resulting in injury or death.

The Government cash will be spent on projects to change this, including home fire risk assessments and better fire safety education.

Community fire stations may be established. These would be open to the public all day with rooms where people could talk face-to-face with firefighters and get fire safety guidance.

Another possibility is the creation of youth schemes. Young people would be recruited to serve as educators to their peers, promoting responsible behaviour and safety.

The new cash will also help the development of schemes to tackle specific fire safety problems in communities.

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