Council and democracy

Becoming a retained firefighter....

Have you got what it takes? The retained element of Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service is fundamental to our emergency cover across the county.

Retained firefighters are a group of community-spirited men and women who are 'on-call' to respond when their pager bleeps, having been called into action by our Command & Control Centre, where 999 calls are handled.

Many of our retained staff have other jobs and so provide just limited standby cover during evenings and weekends. Nevertheless, when the call comes, they are ready to drop whatever they are doing and become part of a highly-trained team, ready to face a range of emergency situations.

What does it take?
You need to live or work within four minutes of a fire station with a retained fire crew; and be over 18 with good all-round fitness. There's no upper age limit for applications.

You will receive a basic annual retaining fee which depends upon the actual standby cover you provide; a further fee for call-outs and another if you actually go into action. Retained firefighters are also paid for attending their fire station one evening a week to undertake 'drill' (training with colleagues).

We are an Equal Opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community. The only criteria we take into account when recruiting are those with a direct bearing on an individual's ability to do the job. We are, however, currently under-represented in our workforce by women and people from black and minority backgrounds. As a progressive organisation, we want this to change.