Campaign to find new on-call firefighters

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to recruit more on-call firefighters in the borough.

The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is holding a series of information mornings at stations across the county.

Retained firefighters must be a minimum of 18 years old although there is no upper age limit. They need to live within eight minutes of their local station and have a good level of fitness.

No previous experience is required as full training will be given.

As part of the role, retained firefighters receive an annual wage plus additional payments for attending drill nights, training and any incidents.

On-call firefighters provide between around 40 and 120 hours cover per week to help serve their local community.

Steve Foye, Deputy Chief Fire Officer said: "Oncall firefighters are an integral part of our Service and community. We are keen to encourage anyone with the right skills to find out about what they can offer us - and in return, what we can offer you."

Graham Saunders, Watch Manager at Hungerford (on-call) Fire Station said: “If you’re passionate about helping others in your community, you could make a good firefighter.

“Although it’s a challenging role, we provide a range of support to help you get to the level you need to be at. If you live or work within

6-8 minutes of an on-call fire station, I would encourage you to come along to one of our events to have a go.”

Open days, between 10am and 2pm, will be held at Wargrave Fire Station on September 21 and at Wargrave Fire Station on November 16.