AS PART of Evesham Fire Station’s recruitment campaign for more on-call firefighters, the Observer was invited along to the station’s weekly training session.
Our reporter Joshua Godfrey spoke to one caring member of the community who put her skills to the test.
“I became an on-call firefighter because I like working with people and wanted to give something back to the community.”
The Observer was invited along to Evesham Fire Station on Monday night to watch the on-call firefighters in action at their weekly training session.This week the firefighters carried out a road traffic collision exercise to put their life-saving skills to the test.There will be more on this on our website and in the paper.
Posted by Evesham Observer on Tuesday, 21 November 2017
For Becky Valender, the benefits of being an on-call firefighter are clear and she hopes anyone who shares her passion for the local area will consider a career fighting fires.
Every Monday night the on-call firefighters at the Abbey Road station take part in three-hour training exercises.
This week the firefighters carried out a road traffic collision exercise to simulate a car crashing into a building.
Call-outs to RTCs are just as common as fires for the fire service, especially during the winter months.
The Observer was invited along to the training session ahead of Evesham Fire Station’s on-call firefighter awareness session which takes place on Monday from 6.30pm until 8pm.
Residents who are interested in becoming on-call firefighters can find out more about the role at the awareness session. Anyone over the age of 18 and who lives within five minutes of the station is urged to attend.
On-call firefighters can earn between £4,000 to £8,000 a year and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service provides full training and flexible contracts.
Becky, who was a retained firefighter for nine years before moving to full time, said: “It is a challenge, but the support is there with good training, great opportunities and to do something different.
“I would encourage anyone who is interested in doing it to come and have a go.
“There is a lot of assistance and practical support with a plan and lots of people in place that if you’re feeling unsure the assistance is there.
“There are different contracts and you can just say how many hours you’ll be able to do. You could do evenings and weekends, you can do daytime hours, so if you work shifts you can work around them.
“It’s great as well if you have young children at school you can do less hours and the fire service is quite accommodating.
Becky also urged anyone who is thinking about becoming an on-call firefighter to attend the awareness session.
“I would just say it has just been such a positive thing for me,” she added.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent sure when I first went down to the station. It has been really positive and rewarding and has opened up a lot of opportunities for me. I’ve done things I never thought I would do,” she added.
Visit www.hwfire.org.uk for more information.
