On-Call availability – responding to incidents

This is achieved by having an established number of fire crews available to respond to emergency incidents, with the ability to increase the number when needed.

Additional “when needed” crews are available on “delayed turnout” of 20 minutes, 60 minutes or up to three hours, and can be called upon to respond to incidents, or provide cover arrangements.

This resilient approach ensures we maintain the number of front-line appliances available where possible, while ensuring we have reserve resources for dealing with periods of high demand.

On-Call Firefighters within Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service provide a range of cover to suit both them and the Service. With this and several other opportunities to be had, the role of an On-Call Firefighter within BFRS has never been so rewarding.

Providing availability

We use the terms “availability” and “cover” in place of “hours that a Firefighter is available to us to work if required”.

There are various ways in which availability can be provided, and for an On-Call Firefighter, this will primarily be to their local fire station for an immediate response, but it could include providing agreed cover at an alternative location on a delayed response.

The amount of cover an On-Call Firefighter offers us can be flexible and could be given during the day or night, whether they are working, at home or enjoying free time.

There is a requirement for On-Call Firefighters to provide a guaranteed level of availability, which is discussed during their application process.

When providing availability for emergencies, an On-Call Firefighter will be required to have the ability to be alerted (normally via a smartphone app) and remain within an agreed area for a rapid or delayed response.

We plan to have a minimum of three On-Call (up to 10-minute response) fire appliances available as minimum each day and night.

On-Call Firefighters have the ability through local line management to:

• Provide response to their nearest fire station immediately and up to 10-minutes (Immediate Response)
• Provide a response to their nearest fire station (inc. work or home) within 20 minutes (2nd line availability)
• Provide a response to any fire station (inc. work or home) within 60 minutes (3rd line availability)
• Provide a response to any fire station within three hours (4th line availability)

Already employed?

An On-Call Firefighter will need their primary employer’s consent to be released for emergencies.