“If someone has to call the fire service out it’s a pretty bad day for them, so you’re helping somebody out when they really need it."
Jade is an on-call firefighter for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS), with an ambition the join wholetime in the future. Jade said: “I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter since I was little. I’ve got three children and I work in a nursery, so when I heard about the on-call opportunities at WFRS I thought it would be great way to get involved whilst still being flexible around the kids.
“I love keeping fit and I’ve always been physically active, so being a firefighter is a great opportunity to use my athletic abilities, I could always really see myself doing it.”
After initially seeing an advert on the fire and rescue services social media pages, Jade added: “The initial recruitment day was fantastic, I got to try out all the physical tests like hose running in a certain amount of time and ladder lifting. It’s a great opportunity to find out whether you can do them and it’s a really fair process so you get the chance to go away and work on some areas of your fitness if you need to.
“The recruitment process was really fair the whole way through. You get given loads of information before you take any tests, and WFRS want to help you as much as possible to be the right person for them.”
When talking about the previously male-dominated industry and encouraging other women to consider a career as a firefighter, Jade commented: “Since I’ve joined WFRS, I’ve never felt like it’s male-dominated. Female firefighters can do it just as well. For any woman thinking of joining, just believe in yourself and have a go! The taster days are so much fun and if you’ve got the right mindset, you can go all the way.”
Now Jade has completed her initial training, she is really keen to get started with her career as a firefighter, Jade added: “I know every job I go to will be completely different. Most of the time you’re going out to the worst day of someone’s life and as a firefighter, you’re there to make it better.”
This is the difference you make, working for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is recruiting for wholetime firefighters, if you think you’ve got what it takes, go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wholetimefirefighters (applications open from 24th May - 15th June 2021).