North East Fire and Rescue Services open up recruitment for firefighters

Today, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS), Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) opened up recruitment for new wholetime firefighters.

Throughout October, all three Services have been delivering a series of ‘taster sessions’ to help would-be firefighters understand many of the key aspects of the role – such as the prevention work undertaken with their communities, as well as some of the physical demands that they will be required to meet.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer, Stuart Errington said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of the fire and rescue service. The modern firefighter not only saves lives but they provide a vital role within the community to educate people on how to stay as safe as possible.

Educational initiatives in schools, colleges and community groups are also an important part of the work that our firefighters carry out.

I would encourage applications from anyone, regardless of your age, gender or your ethnicity, who genuinely wants to make a difference to people of the North East – take it from me, it is at times a huge challenge but overall an extremely rewarding career.”

The role of a firefighter encompasses many different aspects, such as working within our communities to deliver prevention work, support community events, make home and fire safety checks, as well as attending incidents involving fires in homes and businesses, water, rope and animal rescues and road traffic accidents – to name but a few.

Paul Hedley, Chief Fire Officer at NFRS said:

“We are very pleased to announce that we are partnering with TWFRS and CDDFRS to launch another regional recruitment drive. This could be your opportunity to join one of the three North East fire and rescue services and perform a role which really does make a difference.

Given the nature of the firefighter role, the standard we are looking for is high, but you will be supported and guided through the process at each stage. We want to make sure that we get the very best people from across our communities, so no matter your background, gender, race, religion or sexuality we’d encourage everyone to take that crucial first step and apply.

The fire service is an amazingly rewarding career, and whether responding to emergency calls in the most challenging of circumstances and difficult environments or working with our communities and partners to prevent harm arising in the first place, we pride ourselves on saving and positively changing the lives of our residents, communities and visitors everyday.

If you’ve never thought about the fire service as a career – do, you will not regret it”.

The application period is open for 10 days, and the clear message is, that it’s ‘Your Turn’, which will be supported by a social media campaign across all Service’s social media platforms.

However, the fire services are hoping that would-be firefighters will help them by not all applying as soon as the window is open, as it’s is definitely not ‘first come, first served’.

Chris Lowther, Chief Fire Officer, TWFRS commented:

“After a long period of not recruiting new firefighters, this is will the third course we will have recruited to in just over a year. I’d urge anyone who wants to make a real difference to their community, is keen on physical fitness and who thrives on working in a team to apply. Our firefighters should reflect our communities and we want the right people to apply – that’s irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity or sexuality.

I’m looking forward to meeting our new recruits as every new course brings with it people from a range of backgrounds and diverse experiences that can only strengthen our Service. I wish all applicants the very best of luck.”

Find out more about the application process.