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Just contemplating a total change of direction given the loss of my 3rd job in less than 2 years the other week... Have a few questions for anyone who is currently a fireman.
I know they're very strict on applicants, but given that I'm fit, healthy, work well under pressure, am fairly intellectual (I understand they're after intelligent people these days), what else would I need to worry about?
Is there a maximum age for applicants? I'm 30, couldn't find any age/height/weight restrictions when I looked, I know all employers have to be more politically correct these days, but those jobs that require a level of physical exertion can still discriminate rightly.
And how often do they recruit? All the time, once in a blue moon, every few months???
Cheers in advance for any help.
Mick (Firestarter) is a Water Nymph, and a spot on bloke to have a yarn with...
Give him a shout, and I'm sure he'll square you away..
I am, although my county 'hampshire' aren't recruiting wholetime for the forseeable future. Were being 'trimmed' by 15% in next 4 years through 'natural wastage' and other cute sayings.
That said it is a job I am extremely proud of doing where you have a very direct and immediate effect on people, I would suggest you apply to as many fire and rescue services as possible. Tailoring your application to the P.Q.A's (personal qualities and attributes) of the service. You'll usually find these on the web page for the brigade.
In the interim I'd suggest a couple of things
1. Do as much as possible to make you attractive to the service, that'll be led by the pqa's but could include voluntary work or working in a position of trust.
2. If you live near a 'retained' station and can apply there is the possibility of sideways moves. Hampshire has done this where retained ff's complete the appropriate nvq qualifications enabling a sideways move to the wholetime ff.
Lastly don't give up, try as often as you can. I have colleagues who repeatedly applied for up to 8 years.
Merci nick 😉
I'm afraid here in west yorks were aren't recruiting for five years and have a 25% budget cut over four years. Pretty much all brigades age in similar situation I'm afraid.
We are also starting a new shift system on some stations and It's so bad I'm thinking seriously about goin back in the forces. Tho not sure how I'd find p company at 36 lol
Sorry to be doom and gloom as It's a great job which I really enjoy.
aye same here in lincs I'm afraid. not recruiting for years due to cutbacks. relying on natural wastage to cut back on numbers. even when they do recruit there's thousands applying for tens of jobs 🙁
by the way, lummox's idea of trying retained is a good one if you live near a station. could be a good chance of a sideways move in the future.
Live about 2.5 miles from the local fire station, so will look into being a retained.
Bummer on the cutbacks though, kind've suspected it may be as such in a lot of places. Anyone know what it's like in Worcestershire, specifically Worcester itself?
I'm thinking seriously about goin back in the forces
Saywhat? Forget that - you think your world is bad for financial cutbacks?
Spoken to them already tootall just sorting the ins and outs of pension and retraining mate they are all up for it. But still not decided for sure what to do depends on brigade in next few months tbh.
No recruitment here in Lothian and Borders either, surprised anyone still wants join after the hammering we're getting in the media.
Good luck, don't give up and hopefully something will work out for you...
Still a great job despite the best efforts of some absolute fannies{who you will no doubt encounter should you get in...}who seem determined to ruin it for no apparent reason other than sheer bloody mindedness...
Same here in Cheshire, not recruiting for the foreseeable future and 2 stations in 12 months going to day crewed and retained at night...
Most brigades advertise on their websites but they will just suddenly announce they are recruting as from a date in 2 weeks time and you will have to be quick so its worth signing up to their email notifications etc. For the last intake of 12 recruits they tried an online application form and the system crashed within 30 mins.
Great job to be in, old hands will moan about the good old days but chances are they never worked anywhere else prior to the service so dont have any other job to compare it to (this seems to be the case on my station).
we're all bunch of pool playing, car washing, layabouts with 8 jobs each that the public hate with a passion.
Why on earth would you want get that label.
Oh and its firefighter not fireman, there are females in the job now. you'll need a diversity course before you apply. No [i]official[/i] age limit that would be ageist.
Racist!!!
Stick at it mboy. I swapped a desk for the service 3 years ago. Best thing I ever did. Down in Surrey myself. Joined when I was 36 so don't worry about the age thing. Don't think we're recruiting at the mo though. When I applied there were 1500 going for 10 jobs so it can be tough. A lot of the job is now about community fire safety and prevention so worth knowing that angle for the interview. Also pop in to a local station and ask what their latest fire safety plan covers etc. It will all count in the interview. Good luck chap.
If you can get it, regardless of all the modernisation and changes it's still a job i'm incredibly proud to say i do, so go for it!
As others have said it's unlikely anywhere will be recruiting soon but keep and eye out.
Also the website www.fireservice.co.uk is very very good, lots of experienced fire service staff regularly on there ut was a big help to me when i applied.The forum is excellent.
Good luck with it, feel free to drop me an email if i can help,
J (crew manager NYFRS)