Spalding councillor to become on-call firefighter

A South Holland District councillor has taken the first steps to becoming an on-call firefighter for the area.

Coun Harry Drury, district councillor for Spalding St Mary's ward, began training at the weekend with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue at the their Fire Training Facility in Waddington.

Once he has completed the recruitment process, which takes around three months, Coun Drury will be able to work as an on-call firefighter for Spalding Fire Station.

Speaking of his decision to apply for the role, Coun Drury said: "I applied to do this because I wanted to find another way to support and serve the community.

"At times like this I think it's even more important than ever before to try and do what we can to help others.

"I also understand how vital it is for more of us to volunteer as it will be a great help to the Spalding Fire Station."

The station is manned by both full-time officers along with retained crews, with on-call firefighters not only solely responding to fire and rescue emergencies, but also category one medical 999 calls in the area.

During training, volunteers learn many new skills, such as first aid, trauma training and fire safety

Hopeful volunteers also undertake a dictation test, which is 10 minute test to asses their ability to listen.

While taking the test they must accurately record a message from the incident ground by writing the message exactly as it is heard.

Following the physical and dictation test, an hour-long interview and a medical assessment take place, and once passed they can join the next available 32-day training course.

The course includes a mixture of theory, such as the science behind how a fire behaves, and practical skills, including how to cut people free from cars after collisions.

Coun Drury added: "I couldn’t think of any better time to be joining the men and women who serve their communities everyday.

"I’m extremely excited to be standing along side them."

Coun Drury will continue with his duties as a district councillor while training and once he has taken on the role within the station.

He said: "On-call firefighters still live their everyday lives and I’ll continue to work in my day job and as district councillor, the only difference being that when my alerter goes off I’ll have to drop everything and get to the fire station."

If you feel that you would be a suitable on-call firefighter, or would like to learn more about the role, information can be found at https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/firefighter-recruitment/apply-call-firefighter