How to become Firefighter , livre ebook

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ISBN: 9781910202333
First published 2013
Copyright © 2013 Richard McMunn. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. Apart from any permitted use under UK copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information, storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such licenses (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Typeset for How2become Ltd by Molly Hill, Canada.
Printed in Great Britain for How2become Ltd by Bell & Bain Ltd, 303 Burnfield Road, Thornliebank, Glasgow G46 7UQ
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PREFACE by author Richard McMunn
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS A FIREFIGHTER?
CHAPTER 2 THE ROLE STRUCTURE WITHIN THE FIRE SERVICE
CHAPTER 3 NETWORKING FOR WOMEN IN THE FIRE SERVICE
CHAPTER 4 EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS IN THE FIRE SERVICE
CHAPTER 5 THE SHIFT PATTERN AND SALARY
CHAPTER 6 COMMUNITY FIRE SAFETY
CHAPTER 7 RISK ASSESSMENT
CHAPTER 8 THE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR JOINING THE FIRE SERVICE
CHAPTER 9 THE TOP 10 INSIDER TIPS AND ADVICE
CHAPTER 10 THE FIREFIGHTER APPLICATION FORM
CHAPTER 11 THE WRITTEN TESTS
CHAPTER 12 THE FIREFIGHTER INTERVIEW
Free bonus guide – How to get firefighter fit
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to ‘How 2 Become a Firefighter’. This guide has been designed to help you prepare for and pass the firefighter selection process.
The author of this guide, Richard McMunn, spent over 16 years in the UK Fire Service. He worked at many different fire stations at every position up to Station Manager, and he has also sat on numerous interview panels assessing potential candidates to join the job. You will find his advice invaluable and inspiring in your pursuit to joining what is probably one of the most exciting careers available.
Whilst the selection process to join the Fire Service is highly competitive, there are a number of things you can do in order to improve your chances of success, and they are all contained within this guide.
The guide itself has been split up into useful sections to make it easier for you to prepare for each stage. Read each section carefully and take notes as you progress. Don’t ever give up on your dreams; if you really want to become a firefighter then you can do it.
The way to prepare for a job in the Fire Service is to embark on a programme of ‘in depth’ preparation, and this guide will show you exactly how to do that.
If you need any help with motivation, getting fit or further interview help and advice, then we offer a wide range of products to assist you. These are all available through our online shop www.how2become.com .
We also run a 1-day intensive Firefighter Course. Details are available at the website www.FirefighterCourse.co.uk .
Once again, thank you for your custom and we wish you every success in your pursuit to becoming a firefighter.
Work hard, stay focused and be what you want…
Best wishes,

The How2become Team
PREFACE
By Author Richard McMunn
I joined the Fire Service on January the 25th 1993 after completing four years in the Fleet Air Arm branch of the Royal Navy. In the build up to joining the Fire Service I embarked on a comprehensive training programme that would see me pass the selection process with relative ease. The reason why I passed the selection process with ease was solely due to the preparation and hard work that I had put in during the build up.
I have always been a great believer in preparation. Preparation was my key to success, and it is also yours. Without the right level of preparation you will be setting out on the route to failure. The Fire Service is very hard to join, but if you follow the steps that I have compiled within this guide then you will increase your chances of success dramatically.
Remember, you are learning how to be a successful candidate, not a successful firefighter!
The Fire Service has changed a great deal over the past few years and even more so in how it assesses potential candidates for firefighter positions. When I joined in 1993, it helped if you were 6ft tall, built like a mountain and from a military background. Things have certainly changed since then, and rightly so. Yes, the Fire Service still needs people of that calibre but it also needs people who represent the community in which it serves. It needs people from different backgrounds, different cultures, different ages, different sexual orientations and different genders.
The men and women of the UK Fire Service carry out an amazing job. They are there to protect the community in which they serve and they do that job with great pride, passion and very high levels of professionalism and commitment. They are to be congratulated for the service they provide.
Before you apply to join the Fire Service, you need to be fully confident that you too are capable of providing that same level of service. If you think you can do it, and you can rise to the challenge, then you just might be the type of person the Fire Service is looking for.
As you progress through this guide you will notice that the qualities required to be a firefighter are a common theme. You must learn these qualities, and also be able to demonstrate throughout the selection process that you can meet them, if you are to have any chance of successfully passing the selection process.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank all of the incredible and amazing people I have worked with during my Fire Service career. Their constant desire to improve and provide an excellent service to the public has always inspired me. I would also like to acknowledge the Fire Brigade’s Union for the continued and unwavering work that they do for their members – keep up the good work!
Over the past few years I have taught many candidates on my ‘How 2 Become a Firefighter’ course. The motivation and desire of these people is uplifting and many of them have proved that if you work hard, and are prepared to put in the effort, you can become a firefighter. Many of them are now serving firefighters.
www.FirefighterCourse.co.uk
Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to my mother Pauline, who has always believed in me and stood by me through thick and thin.
Good luck to all of you who want to become firefighters,

Richard McMunn
CHAPTER 1
WHAT IS A FIREFIGHTER?
This may sound like a silly question with an obvious answer. Of course the majority of people would say that a firefighter is someone who puts out fires. Yes, they would be correct in that assumption, but the role of a firefighter has changed dramatically over the last 50 years.
Before you apply to become a firefighter it is important that you understand what the role entails. Whilst attending operational incidents is still very much a core part of the role, the majority of your time will be spent working towards educating the public and also preventing incidents from occurring in the first place.
As a professional firefighter you can expect to attend a number of operational incidents, some of which are listed below:
Accidental dwelling fires
This type of fire is exactly as it says – accidental. Somebody in the home may have started a fire by accident. For example, somebody may return from the pub late at night and decide they want to grill some food. Unfortunately the effects of alcohol or even drugs can send people to sleep and help them to forget the important aspect of safety. Before they know it they are awoken by the sound of a smoke alarm (providing they have one fitted) and a serious fire in the kitchen caused by unattended food left under the grill or even a chip pan.
NEVER pour water onto a burning chip pan. This is one of the key messages that you will be telling the public time and time again.
There are a number of different ways in which accidental dwelling fires can occur: Faulty electrical goods or wiring that has not been tested or maintained; Overloaded electrical sockets; Cooking left unattended; Chimney fires as a result of the chimney or flue not being cleaned.
Deliberate fires
Deliberate fires are the most common fires that you will attend. These can vary in degree and type and are a constant problem for Fire Services up and down the country. These can range from a small bin fire in a high street or park, which has been set alight deliberately, or even a stolen car that has been set alight to hide any forensic evidence. Examples of deliberate fires are set out below:
Deliberate rubbish fires
This type of fire usually occurs where a quantity of rubbish has been left out by the occupier of a shop, home or business. If you drive around in your car or walk around the street, you will be able to see rubbish carelessly discarded. This is a potential target for the arsonist and you will attend many fires of this nature.
Deliberate car/vehicle fires
Sometimes car thieves and joy riders steal cars for various reasons. You will almost certainly find yourself attending car fires in the middle of the night involving vehicles that have been stolen, abandoned and set alight. This type of fire can be particularly hazardous due to the chemicals, foams and other complex materials used in the manufacture of vehicles.
Chemical incidents
This type of incident is especially dangerous and hazardous to the firefighter.
As a firefighter you will be occasionally called to incidents that involve the spillage, mishandling, careless disposal or discovery of an unknown or potentially dangerous substance.
You will find that each individual Fire Service has its own operational procedure