Equipped with the same kit, vehicles and equipment as a wholetime crew, retained crews will be called upon to attend the same range of incidents as their wholetime counterparts at any time of the day or night. In return they are paid a retaining fee along with an additional payment for every incident attended. They are also required to attend a training evening for between 2 and 3 hours per week.

The 18,196 fire-fighters that make up the retained fire service in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are generally located in rural communities, although some units are located in more busy urban areas to provide fire cover alongside their wholetime colleagues. Many retained stations provide crewing for 1 appliance, however some crew 2 or more, including special appliances i.e. hydraulic platforms, water carriers and turntable ladders. Many wholetime stations are supported by a complement of retained firefighters to provide extra cover and to crew additional appliances.

Around 60% of appliances in the UK Fire & Rescue service are crewed by Retained firefighters. Unfortunately, the majority of the general public are not aware that Retained firefighters exist, let alone that their local fire station is a Retained one! This page aims to inform and educate people wishing to learn more about the role of retained firefighters in the community and to provide some information about recruitment for those interested in a career as a retained firefighter.

What is a retained fire-fighter ?

The retained fire service is a group of men and women who are 'on call' to respond to a range of emergencies when the bleeper goes. These may be fires, floods, road traffic collisions or chemical spills. Many retained firefighters have other full or part-time jobs, but when the call comes they are ready to drop whatever they are doing and become part of a team. They work alongside full-time firefighters. Although they are 'part-time' they are trained and capable people saving lives and making headlines.

How does it work ?

Many people who are unemployed are also attracted to this worthwhile commitment.

Each retained fire-fighter is issued with a pocket alerter, which will alert the user in the event of an emergency. Depending on the type of cover given, the retained firefighter will respond to their local fire station from home or work, day or night.

Commitment.

On average you can expect to be called out only two or three times a week for a couple of hours. And, because the idea is to have more firefighters available than are needed to crew each appliance, you won't have to attend every call. In addition when you really can't spare the time for some reason - a night out or a deadline at work for example - you can "sign off" duty providing there are enough staff available to crew the appliance for that period.

Incidents.

Retained firefighters, like their wholetime colleagues will respond to a broad range of incidents including:

       Fire’s

       Road traffic collisions

       Chemical Incidents

       Animal rescues

       Water rescues

       Lift rescues

       Flooding and storm weather incidents