Call for more women to become firefighters in Shropshire

More women are wanted to train as on-call firefighters by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service which is holding another “taster day” just for women at Albrighton Fire Station on Saturday, November 12.

Women who live within five minutes of one of Shropshire’s 23 fire stations are invited to attend the session at Albrighton Fire Station from 9.30am to midday to see what life is like as a firefighter.

There are just 23 women out of a total of 484 firefighters in the county and the service wants to encourage more to join. These include eight full time firefighters based at Shrewsbury, Telford and Wellington fire stations and 15 on call from the county’s rural stations.

Visitors will be shown around fire appliances, get the chance to put on fire kit and try out breathing apparatus under instruction from the Albrighton crew.

At the taster session, candidates can talk to firefighters, learn about the recruitment process, tour the fire station and checkout the equipment.

80 per cent of Shropshire’s firefighters’ are “on call” and turn out in an emergency to protect their local communities.

Natalie Parkinson, of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “There have been women firefighters in fire stations in Shropshire and across the UK for many years but it is a career that many women generally don’t consider.

“We provide training, support, promotion opportunities, excellent pay and conditions of service. If you want a rewarding career that is a little bit different then firefighting could be the job for you.”

Firefighters are physically fit and highly trained. They attend weekly training sessions to keep their skills up to date and are called out to deal with fires, floods, road traffic crashes, animal rescues, building collapses and any other major incidents.

Contact Natalie.parkinson@shropshirefire.gov.uk on 01743 260236 for more information or turn up at the taster session in Albrighton on November 12. For more information about what the job entails also visit the careers section at www.shropshirefire.gov.uk and fill in a questionnaire.