FIREFIGHTER RECRUITMENT EVENT HAILED A SUCCESS

PHOTOS: PAUL GIBSON

THE horrendous weather didn’t stop wannabe firefighters taking part in a recent recruitment day held at Hailsham Fire Staton.

It was held in conjunction with the station’s annual open day and was an opportunity for potential new recruits to try their hand at some of the day-to-day challenging tasks of a modern firefighter.

Kids were able to climb on board the station’s fire pump, use the powerful hose and also see some examples of the biggest dangers in our homes which are the main cause of a fire. These included a melted mobile phone which was charging on a bed and caught fire, overloaded extension leads and old electric blankets. The service holds annual electric blanket testing where residents can get theirs tested. Around 20% fail the safety tests, according to the staff at Hailsham Fire Station.

Fleur Wilks from East Sussex Fire and

Rescue told Hailsham News: “We’ve been very successful in the last few weeks at Hailsham, we’ve streamlined our application process so something that used to take approximately nine months, is now taking between eight weeks and three months.

“We saw our first success story of that yesterday, where we had on-call recruits pass out, and we had two applicants who are now going to be stationed at Hailsham as on-call firefighters. We’ve had approximately 14 interested people come through today.

“I think the really important message to send about the roles of an on-call firefighter is don’t rule yourself out. I think there are a lot of people out there who think that they’re not the right type of person. But, the on-call role is extremely flexible and what we’re looking for is the right type of person with the right qualities. So, someone with some determination, some drive and ultimately, wants to do good for our community, especially here, helps.”