wot they said really ^^^^
we have at least one colour blind lad in our brigade that i know of, but hes just not allowed to drive thats all. we also have to make cuts yet we’re still taking on, but its all being done internally now, from competent retained i think itll be. saves money.
as the others have said, pays not great, pensions are sh*t, morales low and things will only get worse. our service dont do the general 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off shift, we’re mostly doing ‘4 days and nights on, 4 off’ sometimes ‘5 days and nights on, 3 off’. so some of the time we’ll take every call within a 120 hr period. obviously you can sleep at night, but not if theres callouts. get a bit more money for the inconvenience but its not worth it to me.
other brigades seem to be cottoning on to this shift pattern now as its the most cost effective, 2 watches instead of 4. i not like :-/
anyways i digress, back to the OP. i can see the attraction for the fire service as an outsider, but really it aint great. yes theres good days when you think “blimey, this is fun, and im getting paid for this!!” such as boat training on the river in the summer, but theyre few and far between. and its tough enough to get in anyway so being colour blind isnt going to help, but if youre committed enough then fair play to you and good luck 🙂