My week in the FRS
Hi I'm Liong, and I've been a Firefighter for 5 years. I joined the London Fire Brigade when I was 27. I wanted to make a difference, and what I liked about the Fire & Rescue Service was the variety of the job – you never know exactly what you're going to be faced with.
Now, you might think that because my job title says 'Firefighter' all I do is put out fires. Well that's not true. Life in the fire service varies a lot, and believe me no day is ever the same. Firefighters also attend other emergency incidents such as road crashes, flooding and even people shut in lifts. We also carry out community safety work, such as visiting schools to educate children about the danger of fire and also conduct Fire Safety visits in people's homes.
This is my diary of a typical week that consists of two days, two nights and four days off…
Monday
9:00: On roll-call. Given our assignment for the shift, and today I am duty person. One of my main roles is to update the station logbooks. I check all of our inventories by hand, ensuring our fire engines and equipment are working correctly. We then test our Breathing Apparatus sets – this is incredibly important, as it's an essential piece of equipment at incidents.
10:00: Station routines continue with hose inventories. We check station hose stocks and ensure that we have enough hose available on appliances as well as spare stock at the station.
11:00: Drill – we reconstructed a fire in a building. I pitch a ladder and climb to the third floor with a hose over my shoulder. I then use the hose just as I would do in a real incident. We also practice operating the pump so that it will be second nature at an incident. Training is a very important element of our job so that we are well prepared for any incident we might attend – for example, a road traffic collision or a Hazardous Material (Chemical) incident. Being a Firefighter in the 21st century is not only about fighting fires but also attending a range of incidents, so we have to be trained to tackle anything we're called to.
12:00: Lunch is an opportunity to talk and bond with my teammates. Teamwork is a massive part of working in the fire service.
13:00: Home Safety visits. We visit several houses giving out fire safety advice and fitting a smoke alarm where necessary. We take fire safety very seriously and although we will always be there when a fire happens we'd much prefer to prevent fires from happening in the first place. Today we made sure the residents had planned escape routes in case of a fire and told them about electrical fire safety.
16:00: Gym hour.
17:00: Back to work.
18:00: End of shift.
Tuesday
9:00: On roll-call. Vehicle inventories and Breathing Apparatus set testing. I am mess assistant, and I'm in charge of tidying and cleaning the communal areas and providing help to the mess manager to cook and wash up.
10:00: Station routines.
11:00: Gym hour.
12:00: Lunch.
12:15: We're called out to an electrical flooding incident. A burst pipe has caused flooding in a house and this has created a number of electrical hazards throughout the property.
15:30: We receive a talk on a new piece of equipment the station is soon to be supplied with. I have to make sure I'm aware of new equipment, as you never know when you might have to use it.
18:00: End of shift.
Wednesday
18:00: On roll-call I was assigned as a driver. I have to make sure that I can get the crew to incidents in as quick and as safe a way as possible. We carry out checks on the fire engine to make sure that the engine is running well, and that there are no technical problems. Normal station inventories are also carried out.
18:30: Station routines include a thorough testing of our Breathing Apparatus equipment. This happens every month and covers all aspects including cleaning and testing.
19:00: Gym hour.
20:00: Dinner.
21:00: We receive a talk on our arrival tactics and our procedure at high-rise buildings.
Midnight: Rest period starts.
3:00: We're called out to a car fire in an abandoned car park. Incident over, and I make sure that the fire engine is topped up with water.
5:00: Back to the station. Clean and replenish equipment and shower.
6:40: Rest period ends.
7:00: Fire engine maintenance.
7:30: Breakfast.
8:00: Tidy station for oncoming watch.
9:00: End of shift.
Thursday
18:00: Roll-call, vehicle inventories, designated as Entry Control Officer which means I'm responsible for recording Breathing Apparatus crews entry to buildings at incidents. This is a very important job and crew safety depends on this. I make sure that the board is working correctly and that additional equipment is in good order.
18:30: Station routines.
19:00: Home Fire Safety visit and install smoke alarms.
20:00: Dinner.
21:00: Our officers deliver a training lecture on procedures to be followed at chemical incidents, and also gas tight chemical protection suits.
23:00: Gym.
Midnight: Rest period starts.
2:00: We are called out to rubbish set alight. Fire extinguished, water and equipment replenished.
5:00: We're called to a house fire. The fire started in the utility room and we managed to stop the fire from spreading to surrounding rooms. There was a lot of smoke in the property and no smoke alarm, but thankfully no one was in the property at the time. Having a smoke alarm is a vital early warning and gives you extra time to escape if there is a fire.
8:00: Return to station, clean and replenish equipment.
8:30: Breakfast, wash appliances and tidy station for oncoming watch.
9:00: End of shift.
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