By Emma Grove

Firefighters are looking for more people to join their retained crew at the Island’s eastern end.

The crew at Eastchurch has nine members who come from all walks of life – from a full-time mum to a student to a builder.

Being a retained firefighter means you are on call when you want to be – you can give as much or as little time as you want.

During the time they are on call, the crew must carry a pager with them and as long as they are able to get to the station within five minutes of a call, can carry on with their normal day-to-day lives.

The crew can be called to a wide range of incidents from house fires and road accidents to chemical incidents.

No particular qualifications are needed and there is no need for previous experience.

The crew manager at Eastchurch is mum-of-one Sally Bliss, who has been a retained firefighter for 10 years.

Sally, 35, decided to give it a try after a friend of hers said she would enjoy it, and she has never looked back.

She said: “I can give full cover because I’m at home most of the time but it suits people even with young children.

“If you are a mum you can do cover when your kids are at school and then take it off when they come home. It’s very flexible.”

When you join as a retained firefighter, you will be given basic firefighter training which carries on over the years introducing other skills such as using breathing apparatus and driving the fire engines.

Firefighters at Eastchurch have also been trained as co-responders which means they get called to other emergencies such as heart attacks and breathing difficulties.

Sally said the best thing about being a retained firefighter is helping the community.

She added: “It’s nice to be able to go out and help when people are in trouble – whether it’s a bonfire, a cat up a tree or an oven alight.

“It’s a challenging job and it’s never the same.

“I would encourage people to give it a go – there’s no harm in trying and you might be surprised.”

For more information about becoming a retained firefighter contact Daren Jenner, retained station manager on 01634 283554, drop into Eastchurch fire station any Tuesday evening between 6pm-9pm or visit www.kent.fire-uk.org

The crew at Eastchurch are appealing for new people to join their crew, and in particular people who can cover during the day.

Most people work day-time so are free to cover at night.

There are rewards for the job. Apart from the satisfaction of helping the community, retained firefighters also get an annual retaining fee which is like a salary.

They are also paid for each incident they attend and for any extra training.

The knowledge and skills they learn, such as first aid, are valuable and can be used outside the job too.

Retained firefighters are committed to taking part in a weekly drill yard night at the station, where the team get together to practice emergency response procedures.

To see a video interview with Sally, click here