Behind the scenes at Holbeach Fire Station as the race is on to find new firefighters for Lincolnshire
‘If we can’t man the engine, then the community will have to wait for the nearest appliance' is a message from firefighters who are appealing for new recruits to join their friendly team.
The company at Holbeach Fire Station combine their every day jobs with putting out fires, providing life-saving medical help and rescuing people from car accidents – or children with traffic cones.
Currently manned by nine firefighters, the station is hoping to attract a further three or four people to bring the complement up to 12 and will be holding a recruitment evening on Tuesday, August 28, from 7.30pm.
Officers – who have shared their passion for the job – are hoping to find a new colleagues who live or work within five minutes of the station that is now a flood pump specialist.
But the vital importance of finding additional officers has been shared by Crew Manager Stephen Kingshott – “If someone is interested in it I would definitely encourage them to do it. Yes it is going to be hard but without it the community is going to suffer - it is as simple as that.
“If your family home is on fire and you could be waiting. If we can’t man the engine, you will have to wait for the nearest appliance.”
Watch Manager John Kinder has been an important part of the team for more than 30 years after joining by chance.
After eight years with the Royal Observer Corps, John Kinder was looking for something different after the organisation was wound up in 1991.
He said: “I must have enjoyed it as I am still here after 31 years. It is being part of the community. It is a respected position. When you go out to a job 90% of the time are pleased to see you when you turn up.”
John has seen a number of changes during his time in the service – especially with the advancement in technology.
He said: “We have some very good equipment. When I joined 31 years ago you had a manual pair of cutters, a screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a hose pipe. The equipment we have now is out of this world and in my opinion we are the best equipped fire services in the country.
“Our training centre is fantastic. We have top notch equipment such as thermal imaging cameras and power tools. Fire kit has come on we used to have plastic leggings and a tunic.
“The safety side of things has improve a lot more. When I first joined, you would turn up to a fire and have flames licking around your backside and be told to go in. We have come a long way since then. We do save property but we save our own lives and others lives before we save property.”
After joining up, John’s first shout was to a glasshouse fire near the A17 - “When we got there, the fire was out so I was very disappointed.”
During his 30 years on the job, John has been to a number of strange call-outs - which mainly deal with children in awkward situations like being trapped or up a tree.
He said: “We had a call from a school to say a child had a traffic cone stuck on their head. We had to very carefully cut off the cone.”
Stephen Kingshott joined up with Holbeach fire station 17 years ago and has a background with community service having worked for the Red Cross -including a stint standing in for the ambulance service.
“It is a job you end up enjoying. The excitement, the camaraderie with the lads as we all have a laugh.” he said.
He didn’t have an easy first call as the team were called to support police on a welfare check and unfortunately he found the man had died.
Stephen said of his strangest job: “There are the jobs where you think this should be simple but it is not. We were called to a property where kittens had gone into a cavity. They were only eight weeks old so we were trying to entice them out with food. It was an interesting job. It took time to get them out.”
Stephen has progressed up to the role of crew manager and organises training nights, helps crew members with their competency and training.
Fellow crew manager Simon Smith has also picked up new skills since joining up - including recently medical training to attend cardiac arrests and heart attacks.
He said; “I enjoy the co-responding side of things as I have gained new knowledge and skills.”
Nick Cott (44) finally fulfilled his ambition to become a firefighter when he joined the team two-and-a-half years ago.
He said: “My mum passed away and I had wanted to do it for a long time but it was always the wrong time. Then I thought that if I didn’t do it now, I never will.
“I wished I had done it ten years ago.”
He has enjoyed getting to know different people and helping the community. He has also recently passed a course to drive the fire engine, which also includes passing a HGV test.
Nick said: “It is exciting when you are going down the road with the blue lights on and everyone gets out of the way.
“No two jobs are the same and you are doing something different.”
Graeme Capps combines being a firefighter with running his shop in the town centre.
As one of the team’s drivers and is putting out an appeal to fellow motorists.
He said: “You have people pull out in front of you when you are on a blue light.
“The important thing is for drivers to acknowledge that they have seen me. I won’t overtake until you do.
“We are trained to drive in the middle of the road.
“If they indicate and move to one side then at least I know that you have seen us. If we are in a rush and the crews are in the back with the BA gear on, it doesn’t make a smooth ride.
The service does pay retained firefighters around £8,000 and two contracts are available - to offer 120 hours a week or 80 hours a week.
Fulltime Watch Manager Ian Taylor said: “We want people to serve community and give something back to the town of Holbeach.”
His strangest call-out was to rescue a dog which had managed to get itself trapped under a wooden shed and a calf stuck in a bathroom.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a firefighter and attending the recruitment night contact the Holbeach team via their facebook page.
