At West Sussex County Council, I have the honour of being the Council’s Cabinet Member for Fire & Rescue and Communities. This means having non-operational political responsibility for our fantastic West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and championing the dedicated men and women who help keep us safe - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Throughout the pandemic our Fire Service has gone the extra mile, which has been officially recognised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate who also praised that staff wellbeing was a clear priority for the service.
Our Chief Fire Officer calls being a firefighter “the best job in the world” and I’m pleased to say that the ‘hottest’ job in West Sussex is about to open for recruitment, with the service looking to recruit wholetime firefighters.
The service is looking to attract a varied pool of potential applicants in order to pick the “the best of the best” candidates from all backgrounds and walks of life. To have the most effective crews on our trucks, we need people from all backgrounds and different skill sets to make up the perfect team.
The service has worked hard to remove historic barriers that may have previously prevented people from applying and we want to attract more women and people of different races and backgrounds to realise the fire service is a great place to work.
We are looking to create a more diverse workforce and are asking people who haven’t considered becoming a firefighter to consider it now. The most important skill you need to have is the ability to remain calm under pressure.
You might know someone who would be perfect for the role - someone who wants to give back to their community. Please help us spread the word and encourage them to come forward. Historic barriers and stereotypes may have prevented people from applying in the past, but we want to say to those people - give it a go as it might just turn out to be the best decision you ever made.
Recruitment opens on Friday 5 March. For more information see www.westsussex.gov.uk/fire
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
3rd March 2021
