Posted: Friday 11 January 2019, 16:03
The first On-Call Firefighter training course of 2019 has commenced today during On-Call Firefighter Awareness Week. Twelve recruits have started their journey to become fully trained On-Call Firefighters serving their communities, and responding to all manner of emergency incidents.
The twelve new recruits attended the Service’s Joint Training Centre for their induction session before the start of their course, a course that will take place over several weeks and give them the skills they need to become Firefighters in development at fire stations across the County.
On-Call Firefighters are members of the community who are paid to respond to emergencies. They do not staff the fire station 24 hours a day like full-time Firefighters. They are notified of an emergency call via a personnel pager which they carry with them when they are on duty. On-Call Firefighters live or work in the communities that they serve, allowing them to fit the commitment around their primary employment, or around their personal lives.
The National On-Call Awareness Campaign questions if people #NeedMore - should that be:
Opportunity: Working around family and working circumstances in a role that will enable people to gain transferable skills whilst earning extra money.
Belonging: Working as part of a close-knit team in the community in which you live or work. Sharing and learning new skills and the sense of friendship and belonging that’s hard to find in other jobs.
Community: Giving something back to the community you live or work in. One minute you can be out working in the community, the next you may be on a fire engine with sirens blaring on your way to save someone in an emergency. There is a huge sense of pride that comes from serving your community and Firefighters are held in high esteem by the public.
Our latest On-Call cohort is made up of: Two Joiners, an Architectural Assistant, a Water Treatment Operator, a Railway Track Maintenance Worker, an Upholsterer, a Leisure Attendant, a Leisure Supervisor, a Security Area Manager, a Self Employed Security Engineer, a Green Keeper and a Coffee Chain Training Manager. Following successful completion of their training course they will take up posts at the following stations:
Duffield, Bolsover, Clay Cross, Clowne, Glossop, Hathersage, Long Eaton, Matlock, Ripley, Shirebrook and Whaley Bridge.
Speaking at the induction, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Gavin Tomlinson said: “This is our first On-Call Firefighter training course for 2019, which also coincides with the National On-Call Awareness Week.
“We will be following our recruit’s exciting journey, via our social media channels, as they learn new skills that will prepare them to respond to a range of emergencies and also as they develop friendships that will last them a lifetime. We hope that others will be inspired by this coverage and take the next step to look into a career as an On-Call Firefighter.”
For more information about becoming an On-Call Firefighter and to view the National Campaign to promote the role, visit www.oncallfire.uk
12 new on-call recruits at today’s induction session ahead of being issued with their uniforms.
Notes to Editors/Reporters
Recruits Course 1-19 will be followed via the Services Facebook and Twitter accounts under the hashtag #Recruits0119