Frequently Asked Questions

If you successfully complete the first five stages of the On-Call Firefighter recruitment process, you may be considered for an offer of employment at Stage 6.

Further information about the recruitment journey, including what to expect at each stage, will be provided during the On-Call Firefighter Experience Evenings you attend.

We strongly encourage prospective applicants to attend one of these sessions to gain a better understanding of the role and the process.

You can sign up for an On-Call Firefighter Experience Evenings here.

If you are invited to attend an On-Call Firefighter Induction Day, you will have successfully reached Stage 8 of the recruitment process. This is an exciting milestone and marks the beginning of your On-Call Firefighter journey. The induction day will take place at a fire station and will provide an introduction to the role, the training programme, and what you can expect as an On-Call Firefighter. You will find out more about this during the On-Call Firefighter Experience Evenings you attend. You can sign up for an On-Call Firefighter Experience Evenings here.

Applications can be submitted directly through our website. Before applying, we encourage interested individuals to either attend a On-Call Firefighter Experience Evenings or arrange a telephone conversation to learn more about the role. If you wish to progress your application, please visit our Join Us page here and complete the online application form.

Attending an On-Call Firefighter Experience Evening, or requesting a telephone discussion is the first stage of our On-Call recruitment process. You can book a date on our Events page to visit a local fire station where the role and responsibilities will be explained. The On-Call Firefighter Experience Evening provides an opportunity to try some of the physical activities that form part of the assessment day. Alternatively, you can arrange a telephone discussion to learn more about the role and ask any questions you may have.

You can sign up for an On-Call Firefighter Experience Evening here.

Yes, if your application is successful. This is stage five of the recruitment process and you will be invited to an interview with us.

You will find out more about this during the On-Call Firefighter Experience Evenings you attend. You can sign up for an On-Call Firefighter Experience Evenings here.

Payments are varied depending on the number of hours you agree to, your rank and your development progress. These payments can range from £2,365.43 to £ 4,730.85 per year as a trainee/development firefighter. £3,026.85 to £6,053.70 per year as a competent Firefighter.

If you chose to go for promotion you can earn between £3,216.90 to £6,433.80 per year as a development Crew Commander and £3,355.65 to £6,711.30 as a competent Crew Commander.

Where a resident agrees, the Responsible Person must:

• Use reasonable endeavours to identify residents who may have difficulty self-evacuating, based on information known or shared with them
• Offer and, where the resident accepts the offer, ensure a person-centred assessment of evacuation needs is undertaken
• Prepare an Emergency Evacuation Statement setting out what the resident should do in the event of a fire
• Provide the resident with a copy of their evacuation statement
• Keep this information under review, no later than 12 months after it is first recorded and at least every 12 months thereafter, or sooner if circumstances change or at the resident’s reasonable request

The Regulations do not require Responsible Persons to carry out medical assessments or force participation.

Statutory guidance and supporting materials for Responsible Persons are available on GOV.UK, including government-published guidance on residential evacuation planning and consent-based engagement with residents. 

Yes. Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, Responsible Persons for high-rise residential buildings (those that are 18 metres or more in height or seven storeys or more) must also: 

• Provide specified digital information on external wall systems 

• Provide specified up-to-date floor and building plans 

• Notify the Fire and Rescue Service of faults to firefighting or evacuation lifts and other essential firefighting equipment that cannot be rectified within 24 hours 

These duties are separate from, and in addition to, the Residential Evacuation Plans Regulations. 

All elements of the process are subject to the resident’s explicit consent. 

Information must be handled in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Regulations do not authorise processing of personal data that would contravene data protection legislation. Residents may withdraw consent at any time. 

Yes. Responsible Persons for buildings in scope must prepare and maintain a Building Emergency Evacuation Plan. This plan must: 

• Set out the building’s evacuation strategy 

• Be reviewed at least every 12 months and sooner if it needs updating 

• Be provided to the Fire and Rescue Authority 

• Be placed in the Secure Information Box where one is required 

The Regulations require the information to be provided to the Fire and Rescue Authority. 

It is for the Fire and Rescue Authority to determine whether this information should be provided digitally or in hard copy, and Responsible Persons should confirm the Authority’s preference before sharing information. 

Where a building is already required to have a Secure Information Box under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the information must be kept there in hard copy. 

Where a Secure Information Box is not already in place and the Fire and Rescue Authority requires hard copy information to be held on site, the Responsible Person must install and maintain a Secure Information Box for this purpose.

With the resident’s explicit consent, the Responsible Person must provide the Fire and Rescue Authority with the prescribed information, which includes: 

• The resident’s flat number 

• The resident’s floor number 

• Whether an emergency evacuation statement is in place 

• Basic information about the level of assistance that may be required in an evacuation

No other personal information is required.

The Regulations apply to residents for whom the domestic premises in the building is their only or principal residence and who may have difficulty evacuating independently due to physical mobility limitations, sensory impairments, cognitive conditions, or other disabilities.

Participation is voluntary and depends entirely on the resident’s consent.

The Responsible Person is the individual or organisation with control over the building or its common parts. This may include a building owner, managing agent, management company, or other person with legal control.

Responsible Persons already have duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. These Regulations introduce additional, specific duties.

The Regulations apply to residential buildings in England that contain two or more domestic premises and meet one of the following criteria:

• Buildings that are 18 metres or more in height, or seven or more storeys
• Buildings that are over 11 metres in height and operate a simultaneous evacuation strategy is in place

The Regulations were introduced following recommendations made after the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report. Their purpose is to ensure that residents who may not be able to self-evacuate are properly considered within residential fire risk management and evacuation planning arrangements, and that fire and rescue services have access to the prescribed information required by the Regulations to support operational response, subject to the resident’s consent.

The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 introduce new legal duties for Responsible Persons of in scope residential buildings in England.
The duties relate to planning for the evacuation of relevant residents whose ability to evacuate without assistance may be compromised, subject to the resident’s consent, in the event of a fire.

The Regulations come into force on 6 April 2026.

You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply and be considered for employment.

Please take note that Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service does not hold a UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship

Some areas are better suited to vehicles that match local risk. For example, Rural Firefighting Vehicles can reach off-road or remote areas more effectively, while Welfare Units support firefighters during long incidents. These vehicles require fewer crew and can therefore be made reliably available more often.

The data we collected and analysed as part of our 2025 – 2030 CRMP shows that we do not need to keep all 30 of our current fire engines. Our assessment indicates that a fleet of 23 type B Fire Engines (traditional fire engines), supported by our specialist vehicles (such as Rural Firefighting Vehicle, Water carrier, Boat) would continue to provide effective and resilient cover across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.

This aligns with feedback from our CRMP public consultation and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection.

As a result, the proposal includes the removal or replacement of seven On-Call fire engines, which allow us to reinvest in strengthening the Service. However, no final decisions have been made. We are seeking your views before making any final recommendations.

Special appliance crewing and locations are also being reviewed as part of this work. These appliances, alongside the essential contribution of On-Call staff and stations play a key role in in maintaining our overall response and resilience.

During the process of creating our 2025 -2030 Community Risk Management Programme (CRMP) staff and the public were consulted on ideas for improving the resilience and capacity of the Service.

The On-Call Improvement Programme is exploring this theme in line with the commitment:

Throughout the CRMP’s duration, we will assess the required number of On-Call pumps to align with our new response standard and address identified risks within the CRMP. 

As a Service we recognise the contribution made by our On-Call staff working across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes and the value they bring to our Service. However, we also must remain aware of the challenges On-Call provision faces nationally, particularly involving recruitment.

This programme is designed to maximise the contribution of our On-Call, while identifying how we can improve our On-Call provision alongside the challenges acknowledged by all Services.

If, following public consultation, the Fire Authority agrees to cease operational response from either or both stations, Great Missenden and Stokenchurch, any decisions about selling the buildings or using them for a different purpose would be made by the Fire Authority Executive Committee. The Service would follow the full scrutiny process to determine the best way to utilise the buildings in support of the Service and the communities we serve.

No. The purpose of this programme is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of On-Call and to strengthen our overall operational response and resilience.

Any funding released through efficiencies in fire engine provision will be reinvested into the Service.

All responses will be analysed and summarised. The results will be shared with the Fire Authority alongside the evidence and impact assessments to help shape the final decision.