Introduction

These days, firefighters find themselves more involved in their communities, delivering fire safety messages aimed at reducing the occurrence of fire and fire related deaths in both the home and business. Having said that, they are trained to deal with a variety of emergencies. These include accidents involving road vehicles, trains and aircraft, rescues of animals as well as a wide range of fires. It is becoming more important that fire brigades lessen the impact on the environment in the event of accidents involving hazardous substances and chemical spillages.

There are approximately 48,000 firefighters in Great Britain; all working to the same standards using a variety of evermore sophisticated equipment.

Work Environment

Firefighters are based in well-equipped fire stations. Facilities normally include fitness rooms, training areas and adequate rest facilities such as T.V rooms. Attending emergency incidents takes up about 10% of their time, the remainder being spent involved in community fire safety initiatives, attending training sessions at different locations and other activities relevant to providing 24 hour emergency cover.

Daily Activities

As previously stated, one of the most important areas of a firefighter’s work is that of community fire safety – delivering important information to the public to maintain their safety in their own homes. This may involve visiting schools and teaching children to stop, drop and roll (if their clothes catch fire), speaking to the elderly about smoke detectors, or holding station open days.

Fire appliances must be capable of responding to any emergency at any time of day or night. Firefighters, therefore, need to maintain appliances and equipment in a state of continual readiness using a structured programme of testing and maintenance.

Regular, frequent training helps to keep firefighters confident and ready to deal with all manner of situations, both emergency and humanitarian. This includes familiarisation visits to high risk sites on a station area

A programme of regular inspections ensures that water supplies on the station’s ground (hydrants, canals, rivers, pools etc.) are always available for use.

Skills & Interests

Firefighters need to have good communication skills, work in a team, think laterally and use their initiative so that they can adapt to rapidly changing situations. Physical fitness is a must, as is the ability to apply specific instructions to a given task.

Entry Requirements

The only route into the Fire Service is at Firefighter level. Applicants will need to be aged at least 18 years, have very good uncorrected eyesight and be able to see red and green in a test for colour blindness. You will also require a good standard of health. (Asthma, epilepsy and knee surgery for example will disqualify you from joining the Service). You can gain more information about medical requirements by contacting your local Fire Brigade.

Estimated salary range

Firefighters start training on £16,305 per annum (minimum) and become fully qualified after 4 years when their salary rises to £20,724 per annum. A chief fire officer (there are 58 of them within the UK) can earn between £65,000 – £95,000 per year (1999-2000 rates of pay) and there are ten ranks in between, all at different pay scales. Although formal qualifications are not required, a good educational background will help applicants to pass the entrance tests and help them cope with promotion exams, should they wish to take that route.

Future prospects & opportunities

Promotion is available to everybody by passing the relevant examinations and sitting assessment boards. As previously stated, any person interested in joining must start as a firefighter, with the opportunity to rise through a formal rank structure up to a chief fire officer or Her Majesty’s chief inspector of fire services. Although all Brigades have good training facilities, specialist training such as Command and Control or Fire Investigation is available at the national Fire Service College at Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.

Many firefighters choose to pursue professional qualifications to degree level and beyond and brigades often help to support job related qualifications.

Related Occupations

Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Protecting Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.

Further Information & Services

All 58 UK Fire Services and contact numbers can be found on Firenet www.fire.org.uk

Fire Service information site www.fireservice.co.uk

You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library – under UC.

What should I do next?

Look for current local government Firefighter vacancies in the following places:

• LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
• Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
• Local council websites.
• Local newspapers
• National newspapers – The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.

Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:

• Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
• Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
• Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in – ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
• Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.