Cambridgeshire Fire And Rescue Service Announces The Appointment Of New On-Call Firefighters

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has welcomed nine new on-call firefighters to stations across the county. The group completed their phase one, 10 week training course this month and now have the core skills required to operate safely as a firefighter with their new stations.

The on-call firefighters will now respond to a wide range of emergencies in their communities, which could include anything from rescuing people trapped in cars following a collision, to responding to a local house fire. They might even be called to rescue a pet in need, or assist with a medical emergency.

New on-call firefighters appointed

Many of the new appointments will do the role alongside full-time employment or around family life

Many of the new appointments will do the role alongside full-time employment or around family life.

They may be at home, work, or out and about, when they receive a pager alert and straight away they must jump into action and get ready to deal with any incident.

The new recruits have now received their alerters and are joining the following on-call stations:

• Burwell Fire Station – Lucy Tomlinson is a full-time Business Support Officer for the Service and now joins the team at Burwell alongside her full-time role.
• Cottenham Fire Station – Andrew Sewell joins the crew alongside his full-time job as an Electrical Project Manager.
• March Fire Station - Ben Cowley joins the team at March Fire Station and enjoys gaming and drawing.
• Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade – Kevin Duke has been a Community Safety Officer with the Service for a number of years, and now joins the team at Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade alongside colleague - Samuel Pumpr.
• Sawston Fire Station – Alex Manders joins the crew at Sawston, alongside his work in logistics and as a Delivery Driver.
• Sawtry Fire Station – Liam Jones is a Laminator and has an interest in classic and modified cars, and joins the team at Sawtry.
• St Ives Fire Station – Ben Lilley is a Mechanic and joins the team at St Ives Fire Station.
• St Neots Fire Station – Matthew Oram is a Company Manager and joins the team at St Neots.

On-call firefighters play a key role in fire service

On-call firefighters are such a huge part of our fire and rescue service, responding to a whole range of incidents"

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Head of On-Call, Group Commander Kevin Andrews, commented “We’re delighted to welcome 9 new recruits to the Service. On-call firefighters are such a huge part of our fire and rescue service, responding to a whole range of incidents, from fighting fires, attending road traffic collisions, or animal rescues to promoting fire safety.”

He adds, “The latest cohort of firefighters has already demonstrated their outstanding commitment and dedication. Being an on-call firefighter is a challenging yet rewarding opportunity, and we wish them the very best, as they start their journeys here in Cambridgeshire.”

Full training for the job provided

Kevin Andrews continues, “We rely heavily on the continued support of on-call firefighters and their families up and down the county. It’s a paid role and our firefighters receive full and ongoing training for the job, supported by their team members.”

He continues, “If you have the time, which could be as little as 25 hours a week, and are looking to do more in your community, live within five minutes of your local on-call fire station and have a reasonable level of fitness, this could be the perfect opportunity and I’d encourage anyone who’s interested in joining us to get in touch.”

Requirements for an on-call firefighter

To become an on-call firefighter, applicants must be aged 18 and over, have a good level of all-round fitness, and live or work within five minutes traveling time of an on-call fire station.