NORTH Wales Fire and Rescue is on the hunt for more firefighters.

Following last year’s successful Retained Duty System (RDS)/On-call firefighter recruitment campaign, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is again calling on local communities to help support its work by asking people who live or work within five minutes of a fire station to take up the challenge and consider this rewarding career.

The fire and rescue service is looking to recruit RDS / On-call firefighters at a number of its 44 stations and is keen to hear from enthusiastic individuals interested in working as firefighters at their local station.

The service is also asking local employers if they can support their community by talking to their staff about the role of a RDS/On-call firefighter, and if appropriate, releasing their staff from work, within pre-agreed days and times, to respond to emergency calls.

RDS/On-call firefighters provide essential and rewarding fire and emergency cover for their communities 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

There is no such thing as a ‘typical firefighter’ - they represent a diverse range of people, including builders, administrators, shopkeepers, nurses, factory workers, self-employed professionals and stay at home parents.

They are all trained to an equally high standard to provide vital on-call fire and emergency cover. Some firefighters provide cover from home, others from work and some from both and this can be over varying times of the day through the week and weekends.

Last year’s recruitment campaign was so successful that some fire stations now have a holding list of people waiting to fill future vacancies - however, there are still some stations that have opportunities for recruitment and are looking for new team members.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gary Brandrick explained: “RDS/On-call Firefighters are fully trained, highly skilled and highly valued individuals who save lives and property from fire and other emergency situations. They provide expertise at road, rail and aircraft accidents, chemical spillages, flooding, forest, heathland and mountain fires and agricultural accidents.

“The opportunity is now available for those interested in the role to register their details on our website for when vacancies become available at their local station.

“If your local station is fully staffed at the time of your registration, your details will be put on a waiting list for when vacancies do become available.

“We are looking for people who are enthusiastic, physically fit and who can demonstrate initiative, commitment and dedication – we want our workforce to represent the diverse communities that we serve, and to support this where needed, positive action events will be in place to help those currently under represented within the role.”

Visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk to find out more and register your interest.See this week's north editions for the full story, in shops and online on Thursday