How to become a Fire Fighter.

You have probably already decided you want to become a Fire Fighter and now you are at the stage of researching how to become a Fire Fighter? Everyone's idea of what Fire Fighters do is a little different. It’s not all about extinguishing fires, the role of a Fire Fighter goes far beyond that and much of your time will be spent preventing fires, preventing accidents, offering fire safety advice, and of course education. Hundreds of children all over the country get first class fire safety advice and many grow up ‘wanting to be a Fire Fighter’ because of the lasting impression a school visit made. One day they may even be here asking the same question....How to become a Fire Fighter?

When you are successful in your application to become a Fire Fighter and you get a post your skills will be challenged in a variety of ways when dealing with emergency calls. It could be an RTC ( Road Traffic Collision), a building alight with persons inside, or a flood to name but a few. You will be expected to think calmly and collectively and use your initiative to assist at incidents. Your compassion will be tested when dealing with the public who have been involved . They may be in shock or they may need an understanding and  sensitive approach.  All of these qualities , and more, you need to develop to become adept at the job. These skills will be tested at the application stage to become a Fire Fighter.

The Personal Qualities Required in a Fire Fighter.

The personal qualities of a Firefighter are measured by a National Standard. Fire Fighter recruitment processes differ slightly between Brigades but they generally follow the pattern laid out in this website. The Personal Qualities and Attributes (PQA’s) are documented fully and broken down into detailed skill areas in the Fire Fighter PQA’s  page, however, the general attributes that a successful applicant will aspire to are:
Commitment to Diversity and Integrity, Openness to Change, Confidence and Resilience, Working with Others, Effective Communication, Commitment to Development, Problem Solving, Commitment to Excellence, and Situational Awareness. Fire Fighter PQA's in full detail.

As a part of the Fire Fighter recruitment process you will also undergo a Firefighter medical, The National Fire Fighter Psychological tests, the Fire Fighter eyesight test, a formal Firefighter interview, and Fitness test.

The role of a Fire Fighter is both mentally and physically challenging and you will be expected to maintain a high level of fitness to perform the role. This helps both physically (preventing fatigue) and mentally (assisting concentration and preventing tiredness).

During you employment you will be continuously developed with a program of lectures, practical hands on training, exercising your skills in realistic scenarios, and various other training inputs.