DESPITE having done a fair bit of work with the fire service during my time in the media, I was one of those, probably like many, who thought joining the service would be only for the fittest and strongest in the community.
Being asked to take part in some training exercises up at the station was exciting, boasting to my colleagues about my next work adventure, until that list of exercises came through, and I was suddenly aware of the gym membership I only use sporadically...
Nonetheless, I knew even if I was unable to complete a single part of training, it would be a laugh with my fellow media representatives.
I was first to arrive at the fire station and soon learned that we wouldn’t just be taking part, but dressing the part too. The very definition of all the gear and no idea.
The first task was climbing a ladder up three storeys of the tower.
Thankfully, heights aren’t a concern of mine, and having previously been up the turntable ladder which was taller than the ladder at my feet – and well above my head – this was the exercise I was most confident about.
The catch was that three-quarters of the way up, we had to hook a leg through the ladder to create complete stability, take our hands off the ladder, lean back and turn around, reading a sign being held by a crew member on the ground.
A quick shout of ‘B9’ and I was untangling my leg from the rungs and was back to ascending the ladder and climbing through the window.
Climbing back out onto the window ledge and onto the ladder was a little more challenging, but still very achievable.
When I was back on the ground, I then had to bring the ladder down, and keep the weight steady with a rope until it was collapsed.
With my poor excuse for upper body strength, I was a bit concerned that one of the seasoned crew members would have to step in and save it from landing on me, but I can say I successfully lowered it without any near-death experiences.
Things then started getting a little more challenging.
Dragging a dead weight was never going to be easy, but poor Ruth (the dummy casualty) stood no chance with me on duty.
I could barely even get a good grip on 70kg Ruth, but with a bit of assistance pulling her up, I made it about a third of the way.
With two wins and a loss in the bag, I was ready to add on even more kit and redeem myself by navigating obstacles in a dark, smoky room.
It was lovely that the sun had graced us for our morning at the fire station, but it made wearing the kit really hot.
Add to that breathing apparatus on my back and a mask covering my face and I was getting uncomfortable.
I now have even more respect for firefighters going into burning buildings.
I was taken into the dark room, where I was presented with the narrow tunnel I was expected to crawl through.
Add some artificial smoke to distort my vision even more than my steaming-up mask, and everything became much more challenging.
Once I was lying on the floor with just my legs hanging out, I quickly realised I was going to really struggle getting through the tube with gear on my back. I bailed. I needed to reassess my tactics.
But on a second attempt with my arms above my head, breathing apparatus touching the top of the tunnel and my body flat on the bottom, I had to get out.
Thankfully someone slid me out and I was free.
I’ve never experienced claustrophobia, the thought has never even crossed my mind, but I had to get out of that tight cylinder.
I was pleased to learn that I wasn’t the only one taking part who had the same experience.
The thing about attending jobs when other media are present, is that even if there is no competition, there is always competition.
The final exercise was hose running.
We were due a practice run, learning how to walk out the hose, turn around and roll it back up.
But the practice turned into the main event – like I said, media competition – so I had some catching up to do after my hose slipped, plus my hose rolling was not as neat as I would have liked, but all-in-all, I was pleased with my performance.
There are gym-based fitness tests in the assessment, ones which I was glad that our time had run out by the time we got there.
While the few exercises we did do were tough, it was much more physically manageable than I had anticipated.
Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service has reassessed the exercises for assessment day, ensuring they are in line with national standards while considering Guernsey’s unique risk profile – one fire station dealing all the issues an entire UK country could experience with dozens of teams on standby.
The ‘have a go’ days are a chance for anyone to give it a try, recognise any areas of weakness, and know where to train and develop ahead of applying and assessment day.
With a bit of strength training and shimmying through tight tunnels, I think I could have put on a much better performance.
That being said, I think I’ll stick to interviewing our local firefighters, rather than joining them...