On-Call Firefighter Vacancies

Summary

Are you serious about fire safety, passionate about helping people and able to demonstrate the skills relevant to being a modern-day firefighter?

We are now recruiting for On-Call Firefighters across Devon and Somerset.

This is an exciting opportunity for enthusiastic, dedicated individuals who share our values to embark on a career in the fire service. Our organisation would not exist without our firefighters who work in an extremely demanding, challenging, yet rewarding role.

Everyone has their own idea of what a firefighter does - the truth is that putting out fires is only a small element of what our crews do. Our firefighters respond to a range of emergencies that may also include road traffic collisions, flooding and other natural disasters. Firefighters also carry out really important work in promoting community safety, talking and listening to people, getting involved and sharing knowledge and preventing emergencies before they happen in order to save lives.

Individuals who are successful in this process will be employed as an On-Call Firefighter.

As an On-Call Firefighter you will need to be available to respond to emergency incidents from your home or workplace within 5 minutes of the station.

We will need you to be able to provide a minimum of 30 hours cover per week.

Your cover can be provided from your home or workplace. There is no expectation for you to be actively undertaking any duties in relation to the On-Call Firefighter role for this period unless there is a requirement for you to attend an incident.

During your development in role, you will be trained to become a fully competent Firefighter (usually within 2 years). Following completion of your development into a Competent Firefighter you will be given access to further training, skills, and development opportunities to progress in your career.

Each individual station has their own requirements in reference to hours they are looking to cover, based on their current team and the availability already provided.

All hours that you are able to provide will be considered by the station.

Please note the following stations are currently not recruiting: Bovey Tracey, Braunton, Bridgwater, Cheddar, Crewkerne, Crownhill, Cullompton, Exmouth,  Plympton, Street, Taunton, Tavistock, Yelverton

You don't need any previous experience as a firefighter or existing qualifications, but you must be:

• aged 18 or over (you are eligible to apply from 17 years 6 months of age)
• able to respond from home/work in 5 minutes or less
• physically fit and able to pass a bleep test 8.8 level over 20m
• medically fit with good eyesight and hearing (find out more about our eyesight standards)
• a confident swimmer
• prepared for the commitment and discipline of being a Firefighter
• preferably hold a full UK driving licence

Find out more and apply

Our application process involves several stages, read more about the process and what to expect at each stage.

Station contact details

It strongly recommended that you speak to the station you are applying for before commencing your application. Details of all of our stations and their drill nights can be found here.

On-call firefighter pay

We offer several different types of availability contracts depending on which station you apply for. 

Take a look at the page on our website which details on-call firefighter pay.

Benefits of on-call firefighters to businesses

You might be surprised to know that on-call firefighters make up 90% of emergency cover in the UK. They're an invaluable part of society.

Whether you're an employer, or you're an employee who needs help explaining the benefits to your workplace, we're here to help.

Read more about how on-call firefighters benefit businesses

Our values

As a Service and as individuals: 

• We are proud to help
• We are honest
• We are respectful
• We are working together

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service recognise and celebrate the vast diversity of the local communities that we serve and aspire for this to be reflected within our workforce. We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds, experience, and beliefs, who share our values, to consider working for us.