The show will see fire crews working with Nick Knowles and his DIY SOS team on a project to turn an abandoned site into a £1 million home for the Getaway Girls, a charity that supports and empowers young girls and women, as part of a Children in Need challenge.
With the help of a large team of volunteers, they completed the build in just 10 days and among those who volunteered were firefighters from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS). They not only helped with building the site but also were there for fire protection and certification.
CEO at Getaway Girls, Flavia Docherty, said: “A massive thank you to the firefighters for their hard work. They, and the other volunteers, have done an incredible job creating our new home.
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The team at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service on DIY SOS. (Pic credit: WYFRS)
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“We are thrilled with the building and it means so much that we have got a dedicated space, which will allow us to continue focusing on supporting the girls and young women. Every single room we’ve seen feels special and I can’t wait to get the girls in and using it – it feels like it has been made perfectly to suit us.”
Getaway Girls is a Children in Need-funded charity and has been supporting young women across Leeds for 35 years. The show will see singer-songwriter Emeli Sande coaching the Getaway Girls through their nerves as they prepare a song to perform in front of volunteers as a thank you on reveal day.
The new building in Seacroft provides a vital safe sanctuary with facilities including a music and media studio, counselling and activity room, a creche, offices and a garden.
Executive producer of the show, Jo Bishop, said: “Leeds has really come together to support this year’s DIY SOS Big Build for BBC Children in Need. We’ve been amazed by the hundreds of volunteers that have turned out to help us.
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“A big thank you to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, your arrival quite literally helped the build get off the ground in the first few days. Your teamwork and positive attitude helped us complete one of our most ambitious projects yet in under two weeks. The result is a brand new home for the Getaway Girls charity, supported the young women of Leeds.”
Group manager, Toby May, said: “Crews from Leeds supported the build and they loved it – I had nothing but positive feedback from those involved. Not only did our firefighters help with the build, but they were also there from a fire protection and certification perspective and did a sterling job.
“As we have been involved with the project since the start, we were invited down for the ‘big reveal’, which was emotional for everyone involved. The new building will be a fantastic base for this charity, which has helped support and inspire so many girls and young women – they deserve to have somewhere special, and now they have it.”
When will WYFRS appear on DIY SOS Children in Need and how can I watch it?
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This is the second BBC show WYFRS has been featured on in the last couple of weeks and earlier this month, crews from Fairweather Green Fire Station were featured on the small screen in the daytime screening of Critical Incident.
The DIY SOS Children in Need special episode will air on November 16, 2022 at 9pm on BBC One and you can catch up on the episode on BBC
