Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is calling for more people to join as retained (on-call) firefighters.
If you are motivated, ready for a challenge, a team player and would like a role that fits around your lifestyle this could be just what you are looking for. Unlike their wholetime (full-time) colleagues, retained (on-call) firefighters are not based on a fire station but instead often have other employment and respond to call-outs via a pager. RBFRS is currently recruiting for retained firefighters at the following fire stations:
- Hungerford.
- Lambourn.
- Pangbourne.
- Wargrave.
- Mortimer.
- Crowthorne.
- Maidenhead.
There are three dates available, during which you will be able to see if you would like to become a retained firefighter.
Saturday 10 June at Maidenhead Fire Station between 10am and 2pm
Saturday 8 July and Sunday 9 July at Whitley Wood Fire Station between 10am and 5pm
On Saturday 10 June, you will be given the opportunity to talk to firefighters already in the role, as well as talk to RBFRS staff about the recruitment process. The day will also offer the opportunity to have a go at some of the fitness tests and day-to-day challenges firefighters face. Unfortunately, we don’t generally run the written tests but do give candidates practise papers to take away.
On Saturday 8 July and Sunday 9 July, you will be given a briefing by a member of RBFRS’ Resourcing and Development team, before being given the opportunity to take part in fitness testing and time permitting the written tests. You are invited to attend at 10am on either the Saturday or Sunday, candidates do not need to attend both days.
With both the sessions, they involve fitness tests so you are advised to wear comfortable clothing e.g. t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms
Although the events are being held in Maidenhead and Reading, it is open to anyone who is interested in becoming a retained firefighter at any of the above fire stations.
You don’t need any specific qualifications or experience to become a retained firefighter, but you must be over 18 years old and have a good standard of fitness. You also need to live or work within around six to eight minutes (times and distance requirements vary for each fire station, please refer to our website for more information) of your local retained fire station] to ensure you can respond to incidents as quickly as possible.
The purpose of the recruitment event is that we appreciate that most people who decide to become retained firefighters have other employment or responsibilities in the home, so we wanted to make the recruitment process as straightforward as possible. By running the recruitment process over a weekend, we can offer a ‘one-stop shop’ for candidates to complete some of the required tests.
If you fit the criteria for the role and would be interested in attending the event then please register your interest by emailing: recruitment@rbfrs.co.uk.