FIREFIGHTING crews in East Cambridgeshire have boosted their ranks after a batch of six new recruits joined the county’s on-call team.
Tom Bellinger (Sutton), Tom Bruce (Littleport), Lee Fenn (Soham), Duncan Fraser (Ely), Conor Garrod (Soham) and Henry Wisdom (Sutton) all qualified as on-call firefighters after completing an intensive two-week training course in Huntingdon.
On-call firefighters are fully trained by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service to help tackles fires and save lives in their communities, all while maintaining their day-to-day jobs and lives.
They may be at home or work when they receive a pager alert and are required to deal with any incident in the day or night.
Sports coach Duncan Fraser, from Ely, said: “When I got my first shout the adrenalin started pumping and I just jumped out of bed and ran to the station.
“It’s exciting and satisfying sitting in the fire engine knowing you could be on the way to a big incident where you have the chance to save lives.”
Bar Manager Tom Bruce, 26, was looking for a new challenge when he decided to apply as an on-call firefighter at Littleport Fire Station.
The father-of-two said: “My family are very impressed with what I’ve achieved and decided to do and I’m really enjoying it.”
His first shout was a chimney fire at the start of April, shortly after passing out.
He said: “When my pager went off it was a bit of a shock but I just got to the station and prepared myself.
“Because it was a chimney fire and they’re slower incidents, the commander had time to talk me through everything that was going on and how certain things were done, which was great.”
On-call firefighters have to be aged 18 and over, have a good level of all-round fitness and live or work within five minutes travelling time of an on-call fire station.
CFRS is recruiting for on-call firefighters and to find out more call 01480 444500 or log on to www.cambsfire.gov.uk.
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