Best of the best
Chief Officer hails elite 101 as they graduate after a tough 14-week course of training
SCOTLAND’S top fireman quoted a classic Tom Cruise movie yesterday as he told new recruits they were “the best of the best”.
Alasdair Hay welcomed a record 101 officers from across the country as they graduated following a gruelling 14-week training programme.
As more than 400 family and friends looked on, Hay said: “If you watch Top Gun, you will hear talk about people being the best of the best.
“And let me tell you – in my heart, firefighters are the best of the best.”
More than 5300 applicants applied to join the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service last year but only an elite few were chosen.
And during the ceremony at SFRS HQ in Cambuslang, Glasgow, the fresh intake showed off their new skills with a series of ladder and hose demonstrations.
Chief Officer Hay said: “It was an extremely robust and challenging selection process but we were looking for the best.
“After watching the displays and getting feedback from staff involved in the development of today’s graduates, I truly believe they deserve to be called the best.
“They have earned their place on those seats today and they are going to go forward and make an incredible contribution to the rich history of the fire and rescue service.”
Among the crowd was Aiden Clarke, seven, from New Stevenston, Lanarkshire, who dressed up as a firefighter for the day. He was there to cheer on his uncle, Dominic Green – but threatened to steal the show himself by posing for pictures with the Chief Officer.
Hay said the job is now more professional than when he joined Essex County Fire Brigade in 1983.
And he believes his officers are equipped to deal with the most sinister threat of all. He said: “If a terrorist attack occurred, many of the skills a firefighter has – which include keeping calm in a very dangerous, developing situation – will absolutely come to the fore.
“The technical and practical skills we have in terms of buildings that have
It has been pretty gruelling at times but I have made friends for life RHONDA JONES
collapsed, in terms of potential chemical-type incidents, those skills can be applied.
“The additional training they get at the moment is raising their awareness and developing an understanding of how people are likely to react and how we have to have a cohesive concept of operations.”
Hay said the selection process includes situational judgment tests to assess how recruits would deal with harrowing incidents, such as a serious road traffic accident. His firefighters are also trained to deal with the aftermath of extreme weather, such as Storm Frank last year.
The trainees – who included 14 women – were split into three squads to learn vital life-saving skills at training facilities in Cambuslang, Thornton in Fife and Portlethen in Aberdeenshire.
New recruit Rhonda Jones was a professional footballer on a scholarship in America when two hijacked planes
ploughed into the World Trade Centre. The atrocity left an indelible impression on the young defender.
It inspired her to embark on a journey which ended in Cambuslang yesterday when she officially became a firefighter.
Rhonda, 38, said: “It was something I always fancied. A turning point was when I was in the States and 9/11 happened.
“I saw how the country reacted. They were regarded as heroes. What they did out there was incredible. I just thought, ‘What a noble profession.’”
Rhonda, of Newarthill, Motherwell, played for Celtic, Rangers and Hibernian Ladies and was capped 117 times for Scotland during a glittering career.
Yesterday, as she lined up for a new challenge after intensive training, she said: “It has been tough going, mentally and physically, but I always had my teammates and my squad members to rely on and we have helped each other through.
“It has been pretty gruelling at times but I have made friends for life.”