Women urged to join ranks of firefighters in Cumbria

Cumbria Fire Service is looking to recruit full-time firefighters for the first time in eight years. To find out more about the opportunity and experience some of the physical tests from a woman's perspective, GABRIELLE ROWLEY attended the Barrow recruitment day.

This year fire chiefs want to encourage more women and people from minority groups to consider a career in the fire and rescue service.

Being a firefighter is still a job that is often viewed as something of a man's career. However, when I went along to Barrow fire station all the staff, from station manager to physical trainers, were full of advice to help women pass the selection process.

Kasey Grainger, a 31-year-old female firefighter from Wigton, attended Barrow's recruitment day as an instructor. She said: "I always knew that I wanted to do something that challenged me.

"Even as a child I remember watching programmes like London's Burning, about the firefighters of the Blue Watch, or Soldier Soldier and knowing I wanted to go into a career like that."

After taking part in a bleep test, which on the day of selection will immediately determine the pass or fail result for a potential firefighter, we moved on to some exercises to test upper body strength.

I really struggled with lifting a metal bar that simulated lifting the heaviest of the ladders above my head. The instructors showed me the proper technique and it became easier with each try. Kasey said: "When I came along to my taster day my fitness would have been similar. I went away and worked on my upper body strength and now I don't struggle with the weight.

"You don't need to be a bodybuilder or gym addict, you just need to know the proper technique and a few exercises to do at home and we can help with that."

Looking at Kasey, who is a slim and petite young lady, she definitely does not have the appearance of a bodybuilder, but she can more than match the men when it comes to shouldering the heavy equipment.

Fitness advisor Vanessa Strickland, from Carlisle, led the bleep test, which requires a fitness level of 8.8 and then oversaw other exercises such as the body drag, which simulates hauling a limp human body out of a building.

Senior figures at the taster day included watch manager Paul Milburn, crew manager Mike Dobson and Stuart Dolan, who is the ops commander for Barrow and South Lakes.

Mr Milburn said: "A firefighter needs to be versatile and adaptable to deal with a variety of incidents, from property fires, road traffic collisions, flooding and hazardous material incidents to name a few.

"With training, gaining on-the-job experience and support from your colleagues, the skills will develop to enable you to become a competent and highly skilled firefighter who is able to help members of the community when in need."

When I arrived at the recruitment day, there was a room full of young men. Later one more woman came to join the group. She had travelled from Wales to pursue her dream. Anybody can become a firefighter with some study and perseverance. It is a career in which you can truly make a difference to people's lives and be part of a close-knit team taking on new challenges every day.

The online application process is now open as of noon Monday October 17 and will close at noon on Monday October 31.

The test day will include physical tests including the bleep test, ladder climbing, ladder lifting and a number of exercises carrying firefighting equipment.

For aspiring heroes in the north of Cumbria, a recruitment taster day will take place at Carlisle East fire station from 11am-2pm on Saturday October 8.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CUMBRIA FIREFIGHTER

There is much more to the job of a firefighter than putting out fires! Firefighters attend a wide range of incidents including car accidents, chemical spills and, yes, even rescuing pets.

Cumbria fire fighter Kasey Grainger, 31, said: "If we have to move a large casualty then we always work as a team

"Some of the days that have stuck in my head the most have been car accidents we have been called out to.

"I guess this could be because it could happen to anybody and I am just glad that we can be here to help. We had a lady once who fell asleep at the wheel and we had to cut her out of the car and then she was taken to hospital by air ambulance. I know that in the heat, with stress and tiredness it could happen to anybody.

"We are also called out to a lot of barn fires and so we are responsible for saving people's homes and livlihoods. It is a rewarding job and we are happy to go and and help in whatever situation is necessary.

"We sometimes do get called out to assist paramedics to remove patients who are unable to leave their own homes. We are here to help anyone and everyone and just want to make a difference."

Campaign launched to recruit new firefighters in Cumbria for the first time in eight years

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