Become an
On-Call firefighter
Are you over 18 and work or live within five minutes of our fire stations?
Then we may have an exciting career opportunity for you as an On-Call firefighter where you can earn between £6,000 and £8,000 a year, sometimes more.
24 of our fire stations have an On-Call fire engine, which is crewed by a dedicated team of women and men who are aged 18+, who work and/or live in their local communities and respond to emergency calls whenever they are needed.
We are always looking to recruit enthusiastic applicants from all walks of life. The most important qualifications are common sense, compassion, commitment, discretion and teamwork.
Please use our Online Post Code Checker to find out if your work or home location is within five minutes of the station you wish to apply for. If your post code is eligible you may register your interest.
We are recruiting for Pershore Fire Station
Attend an On-Call Recruitment Session
Find out more about becoming an On-Call firefighter at one of our Recruitment Sessions.
Attending an On-Call Recruitment Session is the first stage in the recruitment process. You will visit your local fire station where the role will be explained in greater detail. There will be current serving On-call firefighters as well as On-Call support officers on hand to answer any questions you may have.
Our next On-Call Recruitment Sessions will be at Pershore Fire Station on:
To contact a member of the On-Call team email: oncalldutysupport@hwfire.org.uk or phone 07971 627 153.
Flexible and fulfilling
We offer a range of contracts, where the number of hours and times to be available can vary to suit your personal and professional circumstances. You won’t spend all this time working; it’s just the time you’re available for us to call you if there is an incident. You will also be providing a vital service to your local community in many challenging situations.
Full training, uniform and personal development is provided and there are many opportunities to gain additional skills and qualifications that will be of use outside the fire service.
Fitness, strength and training
The recruitment process to become an On-Call firefighter involves the successful completion of the National Firefighter Selection Tests. To help you prepare for the tests we offer a structured fitness programme for you to follow.
On-Call firefighters receive the same training and use the same equipment as wholetime crew, it is therefore essential that you meet the same fitness requirements as wholetime fightfighters. You will also need to attend a weekly training session, usually held on a weekday evening at your fire station.
On-Call firefighter FAQs
Answers to the most common questions about the role of an On-Call firefighter, including fitness requirements, qualifications, training, career progression, pay and conditions.
If you have further questions about the role or the recruitment process, we recommend that you attend one of our On-Call Recruitment Sessions. These are held at the fire station that is recruiting and you will be able to chat to serving On-Call firefighters and On-Call support officers about the role in greater detail.
On-Call firefighter crew stories
Take a look at the ‘crew stories’ of some of our On-Call firefighters, read about how they achieve their work/home balance, and what being an On-Call firefighter means to them.
Firefighter Anthony Wilson, Pershore
Anthony has worked in the building trade since he was twenty, and before that was in farming. He has always pushed and challenged himself and enjoys doing triathlons and mountain biking. When he moved to Pershore in 2006, he decided to look into becoming an On-Call firefighter. He followed the recruitment process and joined the Fire Service in 2007. He is self employed and sub-contracted to a company who are very supportive of his work as an On-Call firefighter.
Firefighter Vicki Wadley, Pershore
Vicki has worked at Wychavon District Council in Pershore, as a graphic designer, for 15 years. There have been a few of Vicki’s colleagues over the years who have worked as On-Call firefighters, and she was used to seeing their alerters going off and the staff members leaving to go to a shout. So, when she saw a HWFRS flyer on the noticeboard looking for more firefighters, she wondered if she could do it too, even though she perhaps wasn’t necessarily the perceived stereotypical firefighter.
On-Call firefighter FAQs
On average, an On-Call (or retained) firefighter can earn from £6,000 to £8,000 a year. We offer a range of contracts between 40 and 120 hours cover a week for which you will be paid a retaining fee. A trainee firefighter providing 120 hours cover a week would receive an annual retainer of £2,718 a year, a firefighter in development receives £2,831 and this increases to £3,623 once you become a fully qualified ‘competent’ firefighter, which takes up to three years.
In addition to this fee, you will also be paid £12.41 an hour for attending incidents and training, again which rises to £16.54 an hour when you become a competent firefighter.
There is no set distance, but when on call you need to be able to get to the station within five minutes from your home or place of work. When responding to the station, On-Call staff must comply with speed limits and traffic regulations, so this must be considered when assessing the time.
No, but you will need to pass the selection tests, which include fitness, numeracy and literacy, a medical and an interview. We will offer all applicants support and guidance through all stages of the process.
Being a firefighter is a physical job, so it’s important to be reasonably fit and we ask for an average level of fitness that most people can reach. If you take part in sport on a regular basis or have an active lifestyle this is usually sufficient. Applicants will be provided with a fitness guide as part of the application pack to help them prepare and reach the required standard.
All trainee firefighters undergo a training programme of an initial three weeks when they start employment and then three remaining modules over an 18-month period. In the future we may be able to provide some of the three weeks initial training in a variety of flexible ways. You must also be available to attend the weekly three-hourly training sessions at your station.
This is the period when you are in the training and development phase of your role, up to a maximum period of three years in accordance with your terms and conditions of employment. During your probationary period you will be required to demonstrate a satisfactory level of performance.
Promotion opportunities are open to On-Call firefighters once you have qualified to be a competent firefighter. You can apply to become a crew commander and then a watch commander.
The nature of the role means we can offer flexible working arrangements to fit individual needs and commitments, such as childcare. We normally require a minimum of 40 hours on-call cover a week, although the more hours you provide (up to 120 hours per week), the more flexibility there is as to when those hours are provided. On-Call firefighters also have an annual leave entitlement. You will be expected to attend regular training sessions for three hours a week and to be available for a reasonable amount of call outs. We are particularly keen to hear from you if you can be available during daytime working hours.
When you are on call there are no restrictions on what you do or where you go, but you must ensure you carry your pager (or ‘alerter’) and be within the five-minute response time. Of course, you cannot drink alcohol while on call or take any other substance that impairs your ability to attend incidents when required.