The on-call opportunity is a chance to give back to your community alongside your other career or personal commitments.  Join the ranks of telephone engineers, window framers and others with assorted jobs who have added the extra duties and received full firefighter training.

Sam Jones, a UPVC windows and doors manufacturer, is a Retained Firefighter based at Redcar.

He said: “It is a really cool job and all my friends are really interested in what I do. When I was at school I was told I had dyslexia but I was determined it would not hold me back. Being a Retained Firefighter makes me proud and shows what you can do. Its always been my passion to be a firefighter and this is great way to put something back into the community. 

“It is a really good job and there is plenty of variety, everything from rubbish fires and fire alarms to road traffic accidents.  I am sure the role also is a benefit to my employers, I have new skills and the company now has a qualified first aider.”

Recruitment in Cleveland is part of a national campaign launched by the National Fire Chiefs Council, National on-call week runs from Monday 7 January.

Ian Hayton, Chief Fire Officer, Cleveland Fire Brigade, said: “Retained Firefighters make a valuable contribution in helping protect the community and it is hugely appreciated that they are   prepared to give up some of their valuable spare time to perform these duties. They are a credit to the Brigade and we would certainly encourage others to come forward in what is very rewarding and fulfilling role.”

An on-call firefighter is someone who responds to a range of fire and rescue service jobs from   emergency calls to home fire safety visits, open days and carrying out work with their local communities.

They can come from every walk of life, including shopkeepers, builders, farmers, office workers and people who are not currently employed. Retained firefighters must be able to respond and arrive within five minutes of their nearest fire station.

Full training is provided and no experience is necessary. Vacancies are available throughout the UK and Cleveland particularly welcome applications from those available weekdays.

To apply you must:

• Be eligible to work in the UK
• Live within, and be able to respond and arrive within 5 minutes of the Fire Station
• Provide cover on a rotational call-out basis to the Fire Station you will be situated at
• Be 18 years old at the start of the training course
• Have a good all round level of fitness
• Meet Fire & Rescue Services medical standards (eyesight, colour vision, hearing, lung function)

To find out more and how to apply to being a Retained Firefighter with Cleveland Fire Brigade, go to www.clevelandfire.gov.uk/retained/