South Holland needs its heroes – could you be one of them?
It might surprise you to know that over 75 per cent of firefighters in South Holland are retained and work full time in other jobs, but there’s currently a shortage of them in the area.
Holbeach are the perfect example. The fire crew are still on call to go within five minutes of any emergency coming in at any time, night or day.
But they currently have nine retained firefighters when there’s capacity for 12.
Donington, Long Sutton and Crowland are also manned mainly by retained fighters and there’s several based out of Spalding.
For the crew to be active, a minimum of four need to be on call, otherwise the life-saving service will not be able to run.
So why would you do it?
“It gives you a buzz,” said Cameron Sleight of Holbeach Fire Crew who also runs his own hot tub business. “If you save just one person in your career then you’ve done something.”
The Holbeach fire crew’s watch manager John Kinder has been a firefighter over 25 years while also running his own electrical business.
“In the end we’re helping the community,” John said. “It’s very rewarding as you get a great response from the community and we get quite a lot of respect for what we do.
“People are almost always pleased to see you.
“You see life and you occasionally see death. You see it all, but there’s a lot of good stuff.
“We’re a really good team, particularly here at Holbeach.”
“Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue’s training is up there with the very best in the country and the equipment we have is better than most other services.
“Within five weeks training you can be on the engine and attending calls but we provide a development plan that can last anything between 18 months and two years.“
Anybody of any gender over the age of 18 can look to join though there are some physical and medical tests that need to be passed.
As the fire crew has to have left the station within five minutes of an emergency coming in, those on call need to be working or living within that time of the station when on call. A buzzer system alerts them to calls.
There’s around 700 calls a year, the vast majority of which involve what’s called the co-responders. It involves attending incidents of cardiac arrest where the fire crew may get to the casualty sooner than the ambulance.
Training is paid for and an hourly rate comes into force once the alert is raised until the firefighters clock off.
Ideally crews look for a person to be on call for around 90 hours a week but they are flexible. They would particularly like to hear from people who could be on call from 9am to 5pm.
All crew members meet for Tuesday, 7pm to 9.30pm sessions where training is administered.
The Voice popped along to a recent session with reporter Richard Rush acting as a casualty as the Holbeach Fire Crew cut out of the car in an excellent example of one of the potentially life saving acts they’re needed on a not far off weekly basis.
It was obvious that the crew has a great camaraderie and enjoy working with each other while also being incredibly well drilled and professional.
They also largely enjoy what they do with many having been retained firefighters for a number of years.
One such is Errol Dunham who has been inspired to change careers following his experiences. He will soon be working full time for the East Midlands Ambulance
Service but will continue as a retained firefighter for the hours he’s at home in Holbeach.
“You have be a retained fighter because you love it,” he said. “It’s quite a commitment, but it gives you huge satisfaction.”
You can contact the Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue recruitment team on 01522 554190 or www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/lfr
