Entry requirements

The Home Office has laid down the following statutory requirements. You must be:

• A minimum of 18 years of age on appointment.
• Of good character.
• Of a level of aerobic fitness and strength to enable you to undertake fire fighting duties.
• Able to pass medical and eyesight examinations to ensure you are fit to undertake fire-fighting duties.

Please be aware that in order to make an application in the next wholetime recruitment process you must possess a level 2 Maths and English Language qualification (this is equivalent to an NVQ level 2, a GCSE Grade C or above, ‘O’ Level grade 1 and a GCE grade 1 in both Maths and English Language). For further details please see the briefing note below.

Please read the Briefing Note attached here

Guidance on Health and Fitness for Potential Applicants

Each applicant will be assessed individually in relation to his or her health and fitness.

Generally if you are applying for a firefighter role you will need to be fit enough to meet the demands of the job whenever required to do so. You must be able to undertake work that will involve periods of intense activity, punctuated by periods of inactivity.

Women often have many preconceptions of how strong and fit you have to be to become a firefighter and automatically rule themselves out of the process before they have found out the facts. Many women are successful firefighters and there are no stereotypical types of women who join the Service.

All medical conditions will be assessed on an individual basis in consultation with GPs and where necessary an individual’s consultant. Your health records will be requested with your consent. All medical conditions will be assessed under the Disability Discrimination Act and the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974).

Fitness - It is essential to have a good level of aerobic fitness.

Vision - A good standard of vision is required.  You should have uncorrected vision of 6/18 in the better eye and 6/24 in the worse eye.  Correct vision of 6/9 in both eyes and 6/12 in the worse eye is acceptable.  Colour vision defects will be assessed on an individual basis.  If you are unsure of your level of vision please consult an optician.  Certain kinds of corrective laser surgery will be considered, provided that there have been no complications one year post-operation and subject to further eyesight tests.

Laser Eye surgery - Certain kinds of corrective laser surgery will be considered, provided that there have been no complications one year post-operation and subject to further eyesight tests.

Hearing - A good standard of hearing is required as this is a safety critical role and will be assessed.

Pulmonary Function Test - An adequate intake of oxygen is essential when carrying out fire-fighting duties. Your respiratory capacity should be sufficient to withstand considerable exertion over prolonged periods, whilst wearing breathing apparatus.

Health and Safety - We endeavour to fulfil the obligations placed upon us by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and expect our employees to do likewise with the obligations placed upon them. Some examples of requirements that are imposed on firefighters for health and safety reasons are as follows:

• Hair: Hair must not impair the gas tightness of the facemask of breathing apparatus, nor must it impair vision or hearing. Any long hair is to be tied up or pinned up so as to be clear of the ears and collar.

• Make-up: The use of make-up or hair preparations is not allowed while you are on duty.

• Jewellery: You must not wear rings, watches, bracelets or earrings while you are on operational duty.

• Alcohol & Substance Misuse Policy: Alcohol consumption is not allowed by Service personnel who are on duty or on call. Members of the Fire Service who have consumed alcohol are to make themselves unavailable for duty until the relevant period free of alcohol has passed. It should be borne in mind that alcohol can take a considerable time to be removed from the body and the effect varies from person to person.

If you have any questions in relation to this guidance please do not hesitate to contact the Fire and Rescue Service Occupational Health Unit.

Personal qualities and attributes

During the recruitment and selection process, your skills and experience in relation to Personal Qualities and Attributes (PQAs) will be assessed. You will be asked to recall past experiences using specific examples because past performance and experience is a good indicator of future performance. A useful tool to use to prepare your application and for your interview is the S.T.A.R model. This model is defined as follows:

S = Situation - a specific situation that addresses the question
T = Task - the tasks associated with the situation
A = Action - the actions taken to address the situation
R = Result - the results of your actions

For more information about the different PQAs, visit www.ipds.co.uk