Tom’s dad was a firefighter for 15 years in Warwickshire, so Tom had always wanted to follow in his footsteps. As he lives on the border of Warwickshire and Worcestershire, Tom made the decision to apply to HWFRS to become an On-Call firefighter at Pebworth Fire Station and joined in September 2023.
Tom runs his own transport company, working with charities such as Cancer Research, delivering marquees and events materials. As he mostly works from home on the management of the business, he is able to provide day cover to the Fire Station.
He said “It’s been brilliant. The team at Pebworth are the best group of people. In my industry I don’t tend to work in teams very much, so I very much look forward to drill nights and working closely together. They look after me, help and support me during my development. My aim is to succeed in my development year, better myself through new skills and become a Wholetime firefighter.
“I have two very young children and a very understanding wife. She had known that I have wanted to become a firefighter for a very long time, so is extremely supportive. If it wasn’t for my wife, I wouldn’t be doing this. The children love that Dad is a firefighter!”
Tom’s first shout was very memorable as he was called out to a very large fire and was in attendance for two days. “The crew were all brilliant and I learned so much during that time.”
Tom has dyslexia and was really nervous that this would hold him back during the application process. “It has been an eye opening in how supportive the Service has been. HWFRS has been really good in understanding and supporting my needs. They made sure I had my technical device early and installed software that reads to me, so I don’t have to struggle. I’m able to change the colour of the fonts to help me navigate through the information. I was concerned about exams, but was offered a scribe. I really had no need to be concerned, it doesn’t stop me from doing anything in the Service.”
To find out more about becoming an On-Call firefighter: