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Welsh Recruitment Meets, Christine Green, Fire Fighter - continued..

Welsh Recruitment: What skills, qualifications and experience do you need to work as a Fire fighter?

Christine Green: You need to be a good communicator, because you may find yourself visiting someone at home to give them fire advice, or organising and leading a team during an emergency; you should be able to listen to people, understand their point of view and make yourself understood; you need to be calm and able to think clearly in an emergency; it’s important that you are able to react quickly in a crisis and communicate important information accurately; you should like the idea of working in a close knit team, be prepared to accept instructions and at other times be able to contribute you own ideas and opinions. Also you have to be physically fit in order to undertake operational duties, you have to be aged 18 or over, and to work under the retained duty system, you need to live within five minutes arrival time at your local fire station. If you are employed, you will need the support of your employer who may have to release you for emergency calls.

Welsh Recruitment: What is the best thing about your job?

Christine Green: The challenges and camaraderie of the job. No two days are the same. You get to meet masses of different people, both within the job and as part of the wider community.

Welsh Recruitment: And the most challenging?

Christine Green: The most challenging thing for me , working under the retained duty system, is that I have to wear two hats. One minute I’m carrying out day to day tasks in my ‘normal’ life, and the next minute, when my alerter goes off I have to put on my Fire fighter hat and be calm and professional and think clearly in an emergency situation.

Welsh Recruitment: The importance of the Fire Service came to the worlds attention in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. When you tell people what you do for a living, have you seen people’s attitudes towards you?

Christine Green: I suppose that being in the Fire and Rescue Service does earn Fire fighters lots of respect in their local communities. But we don’t see ourselves as heroes – we’re just normal, everyday people doing our jobs as best as we possibly can.

Welsh Recruitment: Have you ever been in an emergency situation when you have felt scared? What did you do?

Christine Green: Most of the time, you don’t have a second to think about being scared. On the way to an incident, I play over in my mind what I need to do when I get there. The adrenaline just kicks in. I was a little scared on my very first shout only one week after I’d graduated from my 12 week training course. It was to a house fire, and it was very intense.

Welsh Recruitment: What opportunities are there for Fire fighters to advance their careers?

Christine Green: A career in the Fire Service means that you will be fully trained and your skills will be regularly updated. As well as technical and operational training, there are opportunities for secondments and vocational and academic advancement.

Welsh Recruitment: What tips do you have for anyone considering a career in the Fire Service?

Christine Green: Don’t be put off by the fact that it may be seen as a ‘job for the boys’. Women are fully capable of fulfilling the role of a modern, 21st century Fire fighter. When people think of the Fire Service, they tend to think of flashing lights and speeding fire engines with brave Firefighters tackling flames. Although there are times when this is a reality, the work of the Fire and Rescue Service goes far beyond these images.

Welsh Recruitment: If you could describe your job in just one word, what would that word be?

Christine Green: Fantastic

(Picture: Photo of Some of South Wales female fire fighters at the launch of a special campaign aimed at encouraging women to join up as Fire fighters, Ely Fire Station, 2nd July 2007 )