A guide for employers
Having an employee who is also an on-call firefighter can bring real benefits to your workplace, as well as helping protect your local community.
At Kent Fire and Rescue Service, we have 56 fire stations, with on-call firefighters working from 49 of them. These firefighters bring the skills, experience and training they gain in the fire service into their everyday working lives.
Whether an employee has approached you about becoming an on-call firefighter, or you’re considering supporting an employee to take on the role, we’ve highlighted some of the benefits and practical considerations below.
The benefits of having an on-call firefighter work for you
During their training, on-call firefighters learn many different skills which make them knowledgeable and flexible people in any workplace.
Transferable skills
During training, firefighters build on skills like teamwork, communication and being able to problem solve during fast-moving situations.
Trained in first aid
Firefighters learn first aid to a high standard which can contribute to legal obligations for first aid cover, but also help to keep staff members or customers in emergencies.
Wellbeing, safeguarding and mental health awareness
Firefighters are trained to have great awareness of mental health and safeguarding, as well as having the fitness, stamina and resilience to carry out demanding roles.
Manual handling skills
Firefighters receive IOSH Working Safely training and are trained in safe manual handling techniques, which can help reduce the risk of workplace injuries.
Reputation
Having an on-call firefighter as your employee will build on your local reputation and corporate social responsibility.
What does this mean for your business?
On-call firefighters agree to be available for a certain number of hours each week and carry a pager while they are available. When their pager sounds, they need to be able to get to their fire station in around five minutes.
This means that there must be an agreement between the employer and employee, so they can be released from work when this happens.
It is difficult to say how long they will be out on a call as it depends on the incident, however most crews are back at their stations within an hour.