Date: 13th December, 2016
On call (retained) fire crews from Amesbury are using the global Mannequin Challenge trend that has swept social media to help promote on-call firefighter recruitment.
Using the message ‘Can you fill this seat?’ the short film gives the viewer a snapshot of the critical moment just before the crews leave the station after being called out to help members of their local community.
Retained firefighters are ordinary people doing extraordinary work – they are men and women who may have other jobs or responsibilities as well as their vital role with the Fire & Rescue Service. On-call firefighters are part-time staff who make themselves available for emergency call-outs depending on their other commitments. They are usually contracted for between 48 and 120 hours per week, but this can vary. Between them, each fire station team will provide cover for weekdays, evenings, nights and weekends.
Some 60% of firefighters in Dorset and Wiltshire work on an on-call basis, making them hugely important to both the Service and the communities that they serve. Of our 50 stations, the majority are crewed only by on-call firefighters and on-call staff work alongside their wholetime colleagues at many of other stations.
Watch Manager Chris Browning, Station Commander for Amesbury, said: “We came up with the idea of using the Mannequin Challenge to help promote all the good work the fire service does in the community. Like many of our colleagues across the service, the majority of us based at Amesbury have full time jobs elsewhere, but when we get the call, we can be at the station within minutes.
“From the outside it may look like chaos, but we all know exactly what to do to ensure we leave the station in the quickest possible time. We’re really pleased out film will give the community a snapshot from our point of view.”
All of our on-call stations would welcome new recruits and if you feel that you can fill that seat, you can find out more information regarding on-call firefighters on the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service website – www.dwfire.org.uk
Anybody who is interested in joining Amesbury can pop into the station on any Wednesday evening between 6.30pm and 9pm.
The film is available now on the official Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Youtube channel and can be found here www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNK9D6RW6lg