An ordinary British house, filled with plastic and glass mod-cons, wooden furniture and tiled with standard linoleum can reach temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees as it burns.

A suit made of a synthetic fibre that protects the body from heat and the oxygen tank carrying enough air to breathe in a toxic mix of dense smoke for just 30 minutes weighs a combined 5st.

The average weight of an adult male in the UK is just over 13st with a height of around 5ft 10in.

Add those figures and uncomfortable conditions together and you could be lugging 18st in scorching heat through a house engulfed in a cocktail of poisonous fumes.

Do you think you could handle that after sleeping for just three hours out of 96?

No? You’re probably not cut out for a career as a firefighter.

Then again, it’s probably fair to say few people could handle the physical demands – and that’s not even the most difficult part.

Sittingbourne firefighter Jon Clark says: “It’s one of those jobs where for 90% of the time you could think, ‘I could do that’.

“But that 10% when you are working at full capacity, that’s hard work and psychologically hard, when it’s more about your mental fortitude.

“If you are not fit, you can build yourself up physically. But can you get out of bed at 3am and go to the station?

“It could be freezing and you’ve got to go to a flood, go to a fire – there’s no time to be moody or to think ‘I’ve had enough of this’.”

Jon has been bravely doing the job since his early 20s, experienced all manner of dangerous situations and says, despite the risks, the most taxing part of his job is the punishing effect it has on the mind.

“You’re going out to injured people, or dead people; people in distress,” he said.

“Two people in a vehicle and one person is dead next to their husband or child.

“It’s never a problem with the blood and gore, it’s dealing with human tragedies." - Sittingbourne firefighter Jon Clark

“It’s never a problem with the blood and gore, it’s dealing with human tragedies.

"What’s a day at the office for me is someone else’s life falling apart.”

The 42-year-old’s description of his routine working day is jarring to listen to and not something many could cope with.

This is why his advice to wannabe firefighters is to pop into the station and have a chat before applying, to find out what it really takes – because it’s death, disaster and devastation all in one, four-day long shift.

Yet, despite all this, the men and women who work at Sittingbourne fire station are adamant the pros of their job certainly outweigh the cons; whether it’s rescuing a dog from a roof or preventing a fire from ravaging a family’s home.

For former London-based firefighter Jon, it is the unforgettable experiences he has had. He said: “I’ve gone to places that the general public couldn’t go – all over St Paul’s Cathedral, the highest part of Tower Bridge, throughout the London underground system, on foot, fighting fires down there,” he said.

They are experiences seared into his memory forever because for every heartbreaking incident he has attended, there are a dozen moments of sheer joy and adventure.

• Kent Fire and Rescue service offers free advice on home safety and advice services. For more details on getting a smoke alarm fitted and advice from one of the firefighters, call 0800 923 7000 or email home @kent.fire-uk.org

• A campaign is under way to stop to crimes of arson, which have left a number of firefighters with serious injuries.If you have details about any such incidents, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.