New firefighters ready for duty

Twelve new recruits are starting their first week as full-time firefighters at the end of 14 weeks of intensive training. The firefighters, ten men and two women, demonstrated their new skills at a Passing Out Parade on Friday in front of Police Fire & Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst, Chief Fire Officer, Jo Turton, family and friends.

They showed how they used their ladders to gain access to a fire in a tower and to rescue people from cars following a road accident, going on to perform life-saving first aid on the victims.

These practical skills, together with the work they will be doing to educate the public on safe driving and how to keep themselves from harm, are key to one of Roger Hirst’s main priorities: to make Essex a safe place to live, work and travel.

Mr Hirst congratulated the firefighters saying:

“I’ve worn your suits and been in a tin can full of fire on an exercise and I was pretty nervous. I admire you enormously for the bravery, courage and sense of duty that has led you to this point.

“You run towards danger, help people at moments of real crisis and that’s fantastic. You also talk to people in their homes about fire prevention, help with road safety initiatives, teach motorcyclists how to avoid falling off their bikes in the first place; public engagement is a really important part of your role and we thank you for the commitment you have made to all of that here today.”

The firefighters will be based at stations across Essex and are the first of a wave of new full-time firefighters who will be trained and deployed across the county in the coming months.