Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 06/12/2005 17:06

Officers from Cornwall County Fire Brigade are currently scouting Liskeard and Callington searching for potential recruits to ‘star’ as retained firefighters. Have you got what it takes?

Those wishing to audition should be physically fit, be at least 18 years old and live and / or work close to the fire station.

Retained firefighters, like their full-time colleagues, are trained to deal with a wide range of situations and incidents. These include fires, road traffic collisions, dealing with hazardous materials and floods, and protecting the community through fire safety work.

Other training includes Large Goods Vehicle Driving (LGV), Emergency Fire Appliance Driving (EFADS), First Aid and Co-responder training.

Retained firefighters are paid a basic annual payment (a retainer) and fees for emergency response, fees for training sessions and for duties like equipment maintenance.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Ted Simpson explained: “Men and women from any background can audition for a vital role in any community…. the ‘retained firefighter’. We need them urgently in these two towns but there are also other stations across the County that are scouting for talent”

Executive Member for Public Protection Mr Ken Yeo added: “The fire brigade is currently managing a situation where, although its establishment is short of retained fire fighters, it can respond to incidents from the nearest station. However unless we can recruit and train a number of firefighters in the immediate future the local response to incidents will be threatened”.
Retained firefighters are paid volunteers who do the same job as full-time firefighters. The difference is that they are not based on a fire station waiting for an alarm, they are on standby waiting to be called out

Anyone interested in finding out more must ring Sacha Wheatman at Bodmin Fire Station on 01208 72312.