Work commitments no barrier to Jamie-Lee's firefighting role

"You do feel like you're doing something useful. I've never been to a job where they are not pleased to see you!"

Men and women across Warwickshire have been encouraged to consider becoming on-call firefighters - a role that one Bedworth crew member would "recommend massively."

Jamie-Lee Tilley is one of a bank of around 140 on-call officers who support Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service's full-time firefighters. The on-call officers are integral to the service which keeps the county's community safe and protected in so many ways. They carry pagers, ready to respond within five minutes in case of emergency to their local Fire Station.

Their on-call shifts are always organised around any work commitments they have and that flexibility works really well to ensure the minimum of impact of employers.

It is a system which perfectly suits Jamie-Lee who loves the role and the way it enables her to support her community.

"I would recommend it massively," she said. "It's interesting because you never have the same job twice. It is also nice always going to a job and knowing you'll be helping someone. You do feel like you're doing something useful. I've never been to a job where they are not pleased to see you!

"I work in the evenings so do mostly day cover, so that works really well. I also sometimes jump on shifts at nights if I'm free. When I first joined I had a weekend job at a fishing lakes but they let me change my hours around to make it fit. Another time I was helping out with a sweets business but that was within five minutes of the station so worked fine. It's all very flexible."

Jamie-Lee is contracted for 40 hours a week on-call and enjoys the role so much that she is looking to step up to become a full-time firefighter.

"I am applying for full-time roles but there is not too much of a rush," she said. "I'm only a youngster!

"I didn't want to go to university so was looking for other options and saw the application online and thought I might as well give it a go. I did my physical and written assessment and went from there.

"Bedworth is a relatively busy station so you can get four or five calls out a week. It is a good thing to do. I am the only female in the crew at Bedworth at the moment but they are a good group. It's something different and I really enjoy it."

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is recruiting for on-call firefighters across the county, especially in Fenny Compton, Shipston-on-Stour, Wellesbourne and Henley. If any business would like to learn more about on-call and the benefits of having an on-call on their books, they are very welcome to contact the service for advice. For more details, please visit: https://bit.ly/OnCallWarwickshire

Councillor Andy Crump, Portfolio Holder for WFRS at Warwickshire County Council, said: “In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a shift to much higher levels of remote and hybrid working. This can go hand-in-hand with becoming an on-call firefighter, allowing applicants to combine an office job with the chance to get directly involved in their local community and help others. We hope people will take some time to learn more about this opportunity and find out if it could be right for them.”

Martin Swinden, Station Manager within Response Support at Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: "On-call firefighters are an essential part of our service and we’d be in real trouble without them. Recruitment for on-call firefighters can be tricky, particularly in rural areas, so we’re asking our communities to support us by sharing information about this position and having a good think about whether it’s something they could get involved with. It’s a big thing to take on and not without its challenges, but it’s also one of the most rewarding things you can do.”