Role Map

The role of a firefighter is ever changing. The Service is renowned for responding to emergencies but we also spend a lot of time doing other things.

Firefighting is only one vital part of the service provided. Firefighters also deal with road traffic collisions, air and rail crashes, chemical accidents, animal rescues and many other special service calls involved with the community. Additionally a great emphasis is placed on safety and the reduction of avoidable injuries within the local communities and firefighters are involved in giving advice and support to members of the public on many different safety issues. These include community fire safety initiatives, training and development and station routines.

Community Fire Safety

• To prevent fire and accidents from starting in the first place.
• Educating the community by visiting schools, community centres, people in their own homes, wherever the fire safety message can be delivered.
• Having local knowledge of the area, such as streets, roads and buildings.
• Advising people about planning escape routes within their own homes in case of a fire.
• Actively seeking to understand and to value diverse individuals and groups.

Training and Development

• To undertake a continuous training programme by attending lectures, exercises, practical training sessions and other forms of training to maintain competence levels.
• Take responsibility for developing your own skills.
• Ensuring your fitness levels are maintained as the work can be demanding both physically and mentally.

Responding to Emergencies

• To respond immediately and safely to all emergency calls.
• Minimise distress and suffering, including giving first-aid.
• Dealing with many kinds of emergencies, including pumping out flooded premises, chemicals spills, providing casualty care and extrication at road traffic collisions and rescuing people who are trapped in buildings or lifts.

Station Routines

• Maintain, clean and test fire service equipment ensuring its readiness for use, using approved procedures in accordance with current Health and Safety practice.
• Each item of equipment to be maintained and updated using test record cards.
• Access and record information whether written or using basic computer skills.

Key Roles

There are 9 key roles that a firefighter undertakes. Training and development is ongoing to ensure all areas are covered. These roles cover:

Inform and educate your community to improve awareness of safety matters (FF1)

• Promoting safety matters to inform your community.
• Facilitating learning through demonstration and instruction.

Take responsibility for effective performance (FF2)

• Taking responsibility for personal performance.
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with people.
• Developing skills to improve performance.

Save and preserve endangered life (FF3)

• Conducting searches to locate life involved in accidents.
• Rescuing life involved in incidents and providing treatment to casualties.
• Supporting people involved in rescue operations.

Contributing to resolving operational incidents (FF4)

• Controlling and extinguishing fires.
• Resolving incidents other than those involving fire or hazardous materials.
• Supporting people involved in an operational incident.

Protecting the environment from the effects of hazardous materials (FF5)

• Mitigating damage to the environment from hazardous materials.
• Decontaminating people and property affected by hazardous materials.
• Supporting people involved in hazardous material incidents.

Supporting effectiveness of operational responses (FF6)

• Collecting information on risks in the community.
• Collecting information on resources in your community.
• Maintaining internal resources.

Support the development of colleague (FF7)

• Communicating skills and knowledge to colleagues.
• Supporting development of colleagues.

Contributing to fire safety solutions to minimise risks in the community (FF8)

• Inspecting premises to minimise risks to people, property and the environment.
• Reporting on issues arising from inspection.

Driving, manoeuvring and re-deploying fire service vehicles (FF9)

• Driving vehicles to incidents.
• Manoeuvring, siting and re-deploying vehicles.

Key Skills

Key skills help Firefighters to achieve competent performance in the workplace by supporting demonstration of role-relevant knowledge, skills and understanding. The key skills required of a Firefighter are:

• Communication (written and oral)
• Application of numbers
• Information Technology
• Working with others
• Improving own learning and performance
• Problem solving

Firefighters are expected to develop and apply key skills at a level that matches the requirements of the expected work performance. The application of the necessary level of competencies in core skills forms an integral part of the requirements of their post.

Key relationships: Crew Managers, Watch Managers, Other Firefighters, Members of the community.