You will be safe at Glasto - thanks to Yeovil's Duncan!

YEOVIL fire station manager Duncan White has been awarded a top qualification which will help him to promote public safety at events throughout the UK.

Duncan, who is responsible for events management at Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service and is also the UK event safety lead for the Chief Fire Officers Association, has graduated from the University of Derby with a Foundation Degree in Events Management.

He spent two years studying for the degree on-line.

One of Duncan's key roles is the safe running of large scale events in the region such as the Glastonbury Music Festival and the Somerset Winter Carnivals.

Working with Glastonbury Festival’s events team to ensure the safety of up to 177,500 people led Duncan to decide to pursue qualifications in event management to support his work.

Duncan said: “The safe running of events is taken very seriously by the fire and rescue service and so working with the industry is vitally important.

"I wanted to better understand the pressures and constraints that professionals face on the other side of the fence, and so thought, what better way to do this than to study events management.

“I began by completing a University Diploma in Event Safety Management with the University of Derby Corporate, and then progressed onto the Foundation Degree at Buxton. Studying online enabled me to fit my University work around my shift work, as often the best time to study was at 3am.”

Duncan added: “The support I received from my tutors throughout my degree has been excellent and it feels fantastic to graduate. I’m already putting what I have learned into the planning of Glastonbury 2013, which is now well underway.”

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