Recruitment drive for Staffordshire firefighters just two months after lay-offs

A recruitment drive has been launched for at least 11 retained firefighters at stations including Cannock, Stone and Rugeley.

It comes after bosses at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service scrapped seven retained roles at both Stone and Rugeley in July.

The service also cut eight full-time posts from Cannock.

The move was part of cost-cutting measures which the authority said was needed to save it £1.1million.

The service says the need for retained firefighters across the west of the county follows retirements and people leaving their posts.

Michelle Hunt, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman, said: "We are still not at the capacity we need for retained firefighters even given the reduced amount of positions.

"People obviously retire and leave posts and we need to find cover for those positions. We do these recruitment drives about once or twice a year and this is currently under review."

Richard Williams, of the Staffordshire Fire Brigade Union, said: "There was a halt back in recruitment for retained firefighters given the decisions made in July.

"We've been pushing to get recruitment back up across the county because we are seeing a number of pumps unavailable everyday.

"The authority has obviously identified from the cuts agenda made in July what services they want to keep and what they want to do with them. Now they have got to fill those vacancies to get them up to the full numbers.

"We are encouraged recruitment is back up and running. It should have been going for at least two years and there is a massive gap to catch up.

"It is vital the public are protected and the more retained firefighters there are, the better."

Retained firefighters provide emergency response cover from either their home or work base which must be within five minutes travelling time of their station.

Successful applicants will take part in an initial training course and, following its completion, will attend weekly drill nights to ensure they maintain their skills.

Retained Support Officer Gary Fox, from the authority, said: "Our retained firefighters will be able to utilise their existing experience to strengthen their crew but they will also have access to a whole host of training opportunities which will boost their knowledge and expertise too.

"We want to hear from those who are a hard-working team player and I'd urge anyone who thinks they fit into that category to submit an application to join our dedicated team."

The closing date for applications is September 28.