Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service is relying on almost two-thirds of firefighters who do not work in the role full-time.
Figures show that of 582 firefighters employed by the rescue service in 2019-20, 64 per cent of them were on-call.
On-call firefighters are those who respond to emergencies and take part in other fire service activities on an ad-hoc basis, meaning they may have a full-time job elsewhere.
Across England there are 35,291 firefighters employed, with 35 per cent of them on-call.
The National Fire Chiefs Council said these firefighters give emergency cover to more than 90 per cent of the UK.
They described them as “a vital part of today’s fire and rescue service.”
On-call firefighters are paid the same hourly rate as whole-time staff for the hours that they work, with an annual salary for a fully-trained on-call firefighter averaging at £3,177.
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