LFB in hunt for hundreds of firefighters

THE biggest firefighter recruitment campaign in more than six years launched in London on Monday.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) is looking for 400 new firefighters, with recruitment days set to be held at stations throughout the capital.

It estimates it needs at least 7,000 applicants to obtain the people it needs and has re-established an outreach team that will go out into the community to talk about the numerous career opportunities that firefighting offers.

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said the job can develop into other firefighting specialisms such as technical rescue, fire investigation and community prevention work.

“There is no more important time to become a firefighter in London,” she said

“The five terrorist attacks and the tragic Grenfell blaze this year has shown that our firefighters must be prepared to deal with every eventuality that can occur in our capital.”

She said tackling fires was now a smaller part of a modern firefighter’s role.

“In any given day you could be helping to stabilise the driver at a road traffic collision, pumping out water of a flooded property or fitting smoke alarms that save the life of an elderly Londoner,” she said.

“For those that go on to choose specialist firefighting career paths, you could travel the world rescuing people from collapsed buildings, solve the causes of complex fires with the service’s fire investigation team and help prevent fires and save lives through face-to-face community safety work.

“With our new campaign we hope to reach those people who never thought of firefighting as a career for them.

“Firefighting is a job for all and we especially want to reach women and black minority ethnic (BME) people as we strive to better reflect the communities we work in.”

Every candidate will need to meet ability tests on a range of skills including problem solving, physical strength, and communication, and must meet the following criteria:

Be a UK/EU citizen, without work restrictions or be a permanent resident in UK.

Pass certain rigorous physical and job related tests. Pass medical and eye examinations. Be at least 17 and a half-years-old as of the closing date of the advert.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “London’s firefighters do one of the most important jobs there is – helping to keep the rest of us safe.

“This year they have played a critical and heroic role in responding to deadly terrorist attacks and tackling the Grenfell Tower tragedy, but this is only a small proportion of their tireless work to protect and support London’s communities.”

The mayor is also encouraging woman and people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds to apply.

He said he wanted the LFB “to become as diverse as the city it serves”.

A change in requirement means applicants do not have to live in the capital or hold a driver’s licence.

Instead, successful applicants will be expected to pass their LGV test within the first three years of employment.

Successful applicants will be put through three stages of training – a prelearning programme, a combination of classroom and practical sessions, and finally on-the-job development and consolidation of learning at a fire station.

The recruitment process launched on Monday.

To apply, visit the LFB website.