Anyone who has ever thought of a career in the fire service is able to give it a go next week before job applications open.
Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service is hoping to open the opportunity of joining the service to everyone, and debunk the stereotype of it only being a career for the fittest and strongest in the community.
‘Our job is a brilliant job that we want everyone to get involved with. We just want to make sure that everyone feels that they can at least have a go at being considered,’ said Tom Chapman, station officer in training and assurance.
‘This is the first year we’ve ever done “have a go days” to get rid of the misconception that only the strongest, most athletic people can do our job.
‘You have to have a really good level of capability, but it is achievable with a bit of training.’
The fire service recruits every two years or so, but has recently taken a deeper look at how it assesses applicants.
It has ensured that tests are aligned with national standards, while being conscious that Guernsey has a unique risk profile.
‘Guernsey has the same risk profile as a county does in the UK.
‘We have airports, fuel stores, harbours, public buildings, all the things that a county would have, but in a county you’d have half a dozen stations responding to it,’ said Mr Chapman.
‘The exercises we’ve done today, we will do some variation of every single shift, whether that’s on incident or in our daily training sessions, our days are quite regimented and there will be some element of training in every shift.’
In Guernsey, the fire service attends about 1,200 incidents a year.
It is believed that the local service has not had a woman serving on its active team for about 15 years.
‘We’d love to have some women come up and have a go,’ said Mr Chapman. ‘There is a bit of a national trend that women don’t necessarily consider firefighting as an option, but if someone is stuck in the fire, they don’t care who you are, they just want you to come and rescue them.
‘If you meet the standards and have the right mindset, you can think laterally and solve problems, and you’re good in a team, we want anyone and everyone.
‘The more diversity we can include in the fire service, the better.’
The ‘have a go’ sessions are Thursday 23 April 4pm to 9pm, and Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April between 9am and 2pm. Places can be reserved by emailing home-frs-admin@gov.gg or calling 01481 221111. More information can be found at gov.gg/firefighter.
You need to be logged in to comment.