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Careers
On Call Personnel are part-time uniformed members of staff. There is a total of 168 retained staff, when at full strength, all of which are trained as firefighters and provide cover on thirteen of the fifteen Fire Stations in County Durham and Darlington. Seven of these Stations are solely staffed by on call firefighters under the command of a wholetime Officer. Although on call staff are classified as part-time, due to the majority of them having other primary occupations, they do provide much of their spare time either attending incidents, working, training or, they remain available for call which means they must be able to attend the Station within five minutes.
On call Firefighter Recruitment
On call or part-time firefighters are exactly what the name suggests. They are men and women from all types of backgrounds who can be called upon when there is an incident to attend.
On call Firefighters
Most On call firefighters have other jobs, but in their time off, or if their employer allows during work time, are prepared to drop everything if their pagers sound, hurry to their Local Fire Station and ‘turnout’ on the fire appliance to incidents.
On call firefighters come from all backgrounds - for instance, shopkeepers, farmers, plumbers, typists or technicians. But when the call comes, they become part of a dedicated team ready to face any emergency. They may be 'part-time', but are trained and capable people in the front line, saving lives and making a contribution to the community.
What will you get out of it?
Apart from the excitement and the challenge you will get satisfaction from a job well done. You will learn to be more self-reliant and confident. After all, if you can cope in a real emergency, you are ready for anything. You will meet a lot of people in your local community and earn their confidence and respect.
Added to this, you get paid. This will consist of a basic retainer, a fee for call outs and another for going into action. You are paid for drill nights and duties like equipment maintenance. There is also a long service bounty.
On call Stations
We have On call Firefighters at stations in Consett, High Handenhold, Seaham, Wheatley Hill, Durham, Crook, Spennymoor, Sedgefield, Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Auckland, Stanhope, Middleton in Teesdale and Barnard Castle.
How to Apply
As a On call firefighter you will provide an “On call” part time service, responding to fire and emergency calls in the same way as Wholetime Firefighters, using the same appliances and equipment.
The difference is that you will be “On call” in your home or at work rather than at a fire station. You would be required, during your hours of declared availability, to remain within 5 minutes traveling distance of the fire station, so that you can respond quickly but you don’t have to be confined to the house. It’s like having a part time job – you have to commit to the cover you’ve agreed to – and like a part time job, you get paid for it!
Could you be a On call Firefighter?
We are looking for enthusiastic individuals with common sense, the ability to deal with physically and emotionally demanding situations and also have the ability to work as part of a team.
To apply to join the service as a on call Firefighter, you do not need any qualifications, instead you will need to:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Be physically and medically fit
- Have good hearing and eyesight
- Have a real interest in the fire service and helping the community
- Most importantly you must live or work within 5 minutes of one of the fire stations stated above.
We are especially looking for anyone who can provide availability during the hours of 8am and 6pm (or any part of).
Interested?
For further information please call the Personnel Team on 0191 3324 394, by emailling kluke@ddfire.gov.uk or to learn more about the recruitment process, view the page on the selection process.
