21 January 2009
Marlow Fire Station is staging an open evening next week as part of its drive to recruit more firefighters to serve the local community
It takes place on Tuesday 27 January at the station in Parkway, Marlow, from 7pm to 9pm.
The event is being organised by Watch Manager Richard Boast, who is now in his 25th year as a firefighter in the town.
Richard and his colleagues will give a demonstration showing some of the techniques used in modern-day firefighting. They will also be on hand to answer questions from people attending the open evening.
Station Manager Roy Hocking said: “Since we launched our recruitment campaign a week ago, four people have expressed an interest in joining the team at Marlow.
“This is a very encouraging response, but we are keen to make sure that as many people as possible have an opportunity to find out more about what we can offer them and they can offer us.”
Firefighters at Marlow are members of Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Retained Duty System. This means that instead of being based in a fire station, they are on standby waiting to be called out. They may be at home, working for themselves or working for a company that allows them to leave work to attend an emergency call.
Like their full-time colleagues, they are trained and equipped to deal with a wide range of incidents and situations. These include fires, road traffic collisions, water rescues and protecting the community through fire safety work.
Their on-call time can be a combination of daytime, evening and weekend hours. They are paid for being on call and called out, and are entitled to paid holidays, sick pay and membership of a pension scheme.
There are benefits for employers who release staff to be RDS firefighters too. The employee will be professionally trained to deal with emergencies, and an RDS firefighter on the staff could help save lives and property in the event of an emergency. Staff can also be trained for further qualifications such as health and safety and first aid, which could help the business as well.
To be a Retained Duty System firefighter you need to be at least 18 years old, physically fit and live and/or work close to the fire station. Just as important are qualities like common sense, commitment, enthusiasm and the ability to work as a member of a team.
If you would like to find out more about working as an RDS firefighter in Marlow, or if you are an employer interested in allowing your employees to participate, ring the information pack hotline on 01296 744670, email rdsrecruitment@bucksfire.gov.uk or click here for an information pack and application form.
Four other fire stations – Amersham, Brill, Chesham and Stokenchurch – are also on the lookout for new RDS recruits.