Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service has a responsibility to keep our communities safe in both our cities, our large and smaller market towns, and also in the rural areas of our beautiful counties.

All 27 fire stations in Herefordshire and Worcestershire include on-call firefighters – men and women who are aged 18+, who live or work within five minutes of the fire station, and who can commit to being on-call for a minimum of 40 hours of each week.  They form more than 60per cent of the operational firefighters.

A sense of belonging and purpose has been a key feature in Taylor Robinson relishing his role as an on-call firefighter with HWFRS.

Taylor, aged 24, from Evesham, works in a factory but has a military background.

“I spent four years in the army,” he said. “I enjoyed being in uniform and seeing the bigger picture and I missed that sense of belonging when I left the army.

“I saw the on-call firefighter role advertised and gave Nick Tuckwell, the Watch Commander from Evesham Fire Station, a call back in February 2017 for some information. It all developed from there.”

Taylor says that he has had no problems combining his firefighting role with his day job.

“I work for a company called The Silk Bureau as a materials operator and it’s different from anything that I have ever done before,” he said.

“But my employers have been hugely supportive and, as a full-time employee, I do have some flexibility.

“They understand and admire what the Fire Service does for the community.

“My family understand, too – when I was in the military, I was spending five days a week down in Warminster in Wiltshire so they are used to not having me around all the time, anyway.”

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Taylor’s first major call-out gave him a taste of what to expect and the memory has stayed with him.

“It was a road-traffic collision on the A46 and we had to take the door off to get the casualty out,” he recalled.

“I had not had any trauma training since I was in the army and being taught how to deal with a gunshot wound is rather different to dealing with a road traffic collision. I had to support the lady’s head while we were getting her out of her car.

“It was a question of remembering that I was there to do a job and to be there to aid and assist.”

He also enjoys the camaraderie of the service.

“The role takes me out of my comfort zone and I have made a lot of new friends,” he said.

“There are all sorts of different people who are on-call firefighters, from an ex jockey and a PT instructor to mechanics.

“Being an on-call firefighter is a great thing to do – you have a true sense of belonging and purpose and you are doing something to help others.”

If you are interested in a career as an on-call firefighter in Evesham, Pebworth or Broadway, there is an awareness session at Evesham Fire Station on Saturday, March 23 at 10am. There will a presentation and demonstrations as well as an opportunity for prospective candidates to try on personal protective equipment.

To learn more about becoming an on-call firefighter, visit hwfire.org.uk/on-call.