The search is on to find Banbury residents who will become on-call firefighters

The recruitment drive is being held by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) as part a campaign by the National Fire Chief's Council and it applies to people who live close to fire stations across Oxfordshire.

The authority is looking to recruit local firefighters who participate in a wide range of activities in the local area, from responding to emergency calls to supporting safety needs. They also provide crucial prevention advice to help keep residents safe.

Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer for Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, said: “On-call firefighters are everyday people with normal jobs and hobbies. On top of this they are professional firefighters who make themselves available at certain times to respond to emergency calls either from their home, their work or their community.

“Working for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service means you become part of a close-knit team, earn extra money and receive full and ongoing training to develop a broad range of transferable work and life skills.

“We are an inclusive organisation and are striving to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone with the right attributes, but particularly we welcome applications from female, black and minority ethnic and LGBT+ communities who are underrepresented in our operational workforce.”

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service offers a flexible work pattern to fit around individuals’ studies, work and family commitments. On-call firefighters participate in a wide range of activities in the local area, from responding to emergency calls to providing prevention advice; all to help keep residents safe, reduce harm and ultimately save lives.

Attributes needed by on-call firefighters include a strong desire to support the local community, enthusiasm for working as part of a team, a reasonable level of fitness and they need to live or work within a close distance to the local fire station (approximately five minutes). There are currently 390 on-call firefighters in Oxfordshire.

Anyone interested can visit www.oncallfire.uk – to find out what is involved in the role. Residents wanting more information or to apply to be an on-call firefighter, should email [email protected] using the subject title 'on-call week enquiry'.