In our series of finding more about people and their jobs we interviewed a fire fighter about his job and what is involved.
Course Feeder (CF): Hi, what is your name and what is your job title?
Mark (M) My name is Mark, and I am a firefighter.
CF: How long have you worked as a Firefighter?
(M) I’ve been doing this for 17 years now.
CF: What made you want to be involved in becoming a firefighter?
(M) Primarily to help people. Whether you’re going in to get someone from a burning building or cutting them out of a crashed vehicle there is nothing quite like the feeling of saving someone’s life.
CF: What relevant qualifications do you hold?
(M) I don’t hold any qualifications for being a firefighter as you are provided with all of the training that you need.
CF: How long did it take you to qualify to be a firefighter?
(M) You complete a 16 week training course, and then you work as a firefighter on probation for four years.
CF: What qualities do you have that make you a good person to work as a firefighter?
(M) I’m flexible, which is very important as an already long shift can very easily become a much longer one. You can’t clock off half way through an incident. I also have the ability to remain calm under pressure, which is vital, and have a high level of fitness.
CF: What does a typical day working as a firefighter look like for you?
(M) It varies greatly. Some days we’ll have training, other days we’ll be attending schools or events to give talks on fire safety, other days we will be out dealing with incidents such as fires, motorway accidents or cats stuck in trees and some days we will just be sat at the station washing the engines and keeping things clean and ensuring all of the equipment is in good working order.
CF: What is the best thing about working as a firefighter?
(M) It’s the variety of the job and also the excitement and adrenalin rushes that you can get.
CF: If you didn't working as a firefighter what would be your dream job and why?
(M) My dream job would be an internet marketer, helping people to reach their financial potential and generate a passive income.
CF: What do you do in your down time?
(M) I spend a lot of time with my children, I have two girls who are 12 and 4, and I do a lot of extra work in graphic design and web design.
CF: For someone looking to work as a firefighter what advice would you give them?
(M) I would advise anyone to join part-time first to establish if the job is for them. Like all of the British emergency services, there are a lot of changes taking place that aren’t always for the better
CF: What other jobs have you had in the past?
(M) I was in the Grenadier Guards and did a lot of security work after that.
CF: How does your current job compare to your previous jobs?
(M) It’s great, it allows me to have an established home life which I couldn’t achieve with the guards, but still provides the same level of financial security and pension which security work didn’t.
CF: Thank you for your time and good luck in your chosen profession.
