WHETHER it is being called to a serious road accident or a house fire, retained firefighters are often the first on the scene after a 999 call.

The vital service is maintained by men and women, in full-time jobs or stay-at-home parents, who are ready to respond to their bleepers the second they go off.

Oxfordshire Fire Service is currently looking for more people who want to give something back to the community, as a rewarding extra income or just simply to experience the thrill of helping others.

Bampton station manager Nick Bateman said all sorts fitted the bill.

“A lot of people will dismiss themselves, saying ‘I can’t do it as I’m scared of heights’ or ‘I don’t like blood’,” he said.

“But with the training and skills we give them, what we ask is for everyone who is even thinking of it, don’t rule themselves out.

“We have such a support mechanism – people get the best possible service.”

All recruits are given two weeks of basic training, along with four weekends of extra courses. They are then ready to assist experienced members of the crew, building up their levels of responsibility.

Retained collaboration officer Tony Whiting said: “You never stop learning, that is the fire service mentality — you can always be better than you were before.

“You could have done 20 years or two weeks, you are vital to the team.”

There are currently 12 part-time firefighters based at Bampton, who cover days, nights and weekend shifts.

The main requirement is that retained firefighters must be able to get to the station within five minutes of being called.

Mr Bateman, 48, said: “Without the team we can’t turn out, we will always provide cover but the cover will come from the next viable station. I don’t want to be in that position where we can’t man the pump.

“It’s a national problem, it’s not just Oxfordshire and Bampton. There are changes in people’s work patterns and people now struggle with commitment.”

He added: “It’s a very rewarding helping people, that is the big thing people find. Particularly with the retained service as they are actually helping their local community, that’s a big part of it.”

And Mr Whiting, 37, revealed that the career is becoming more popular with mums, who are looking to top up their income by an average of £6,500 a year.

He said: “We are very family friendly, we try to build it around people’s lives.

“Twenty per cent of all new starters in the retained are women now and that is the highest in the country. It is normally six to seven per cent in the rest of the country.”

The fire service also helps out financially with child care.

Crews on average are called out 200 times a year, which works out approximately three to four times a week.

Not only are firefighters called to emergencies, but there is also work in the community to carry out, such as safety talks and checking fire alarms.

Mr Whiting said: “If someone is arrested, the police do it but for everything else, Bampton station does it.

“If you have a heart attack in Bampton, it’s most likely the fire service will be called.

“Dogs down drain pipes, cats up trees, floods or fires — we get called to everything you can imagine.”

witney@oxfordmail.co.uk To find out more information, call 08005 870870 or visit oxfordshire.

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