This is the first time in four years that we have recruited for this role and this time there is no closing date for applications.
We know the portrayal of firefighters as putting out fires and rescuing cats from trees, and yes we do those things but we do far more than that.
Firefighters perform many roles including rescuing people or animals from height or confined spaces so they are trained in rope rescue and abseiling; they rescue people from water when there are floods and some stations have boats because of our coastal waters, and we attend road traffic collisions and are trained in first aid. Firefighters also work within our communities working with businesses, giving advice to vulnerable people, visiting schools and attending community events like Respect Festivals (you may have seen us there).
There are many other things firefighters do that you probably do not realise. You may have seen that we have been helping the ambulance service over the past year because they have been so busy and we also helped deliver much needed food and other resources to the community.
So you can see, it’s not all about putting out fires.
As a firefighter you will have the opportunity to progress through the organisation and there are training programmes and qualifications we encourage our staff to undertake. You start as a firefighter but you can become a manager within your own team, manage a number of stations and the staff in them, you can become a manager of an area or if you have aspirations to become the next Chief Fire Officer you can achieve this. There are opportunities to work in specific areas like training where you can help to train other firefighters or community safety where you can help deliver fire safety advice and develop strategies to make our communities safer.
There really are many different areas where you can get involved to help and support Devon and Somerset.
We want our fire and rescue service to be the best it can be and to make this happen we need to have staff with a diverse mix of personal experiences, skills, perspectives and abilities to help us deliver the best service to the people in our communities.
We actively encourage everyone to think about this as a career for them, no matter what your ethnicity, gender or background. It really is the best job in the world!
We have more information on our website: http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/WorkingForUs/ACareerWithDSFRS/WholetimeFirefighter/Index.cfm?siteCategoryId=13&T1ID=44&T2ID=116
Many thanks,
Emma Willshaw
Diversity and Inclusion Officer