Find out more about what’s required and applying below
Are you ready for a career that challenges, inspires, and makes a real difference? At Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, we’re looking for passionate individuals who are ready to join us in making our communities safer.
We’re a progressive, forward-thinking Fire & Rescue Service built on the values of Compassion, Integrity, and Respect. We pride ourselves on being a supportive, inclusive, and professional environment, committed to helping you grow in your career.
As a Wholetime Firefighter, you’ll play a vital role in responding to a range of incidents including fires, road traffic collisions, rescues, floods, and chemical spills. Beyond emergency response, you’ll also engage with the community, providing safety advice, running educational activities, and supporting local campaigns.
The role offers variety, excitement, and the opportunity to work as part of a team that shares your values and commitment to serving the community. We offer different shift options that include a balance of day work and on-call duties, with housing options available for those who live further from the station.
We are looking for individuals who are physically fit, resilient, and able to meet the demands of this challenging and rewarding role. Key qualities we value include:
If you are either an On Call Firefighter, close to obtaining competency or have already completed a Wholetime Firefighter acquisition or are working within the sector undertaking a Firefighter apprenticeship, you will be unable to apply.
The Wholetime Firefighters salary is in line with National pay scales at time of advert:
Our recruitment process is thorough to ensure we find the right candidates for this important role. You’ll go through several stages, including;
Events | Key Dates | |
|---|---|---|
Behaviour workshop & Role Related Tests Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue – Role Related Tests – Bing video | 23/ 24 & 25 April 2025 (you will only be required to attend one of these dates) | |
Interview and Presentations | w/c 19 May 2025 | |
Medicals / Disclosure & Barring Service | June 2025 | |
Kit Fitting | June / July 2025 |
All employees are required to undergo a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. If you have any queries or concerns about this process, please feel free to reach out to us at HR@bucksfire.gov.uk.
At Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, we inspire pride in our people by being a welcoming, engaging, and inclusive place to work. Our core values of Compassion, Integrity, and Respect guide everything we do. We are committed to embedding equality, diversity, and fairness in all aspects of our work. By upholding these principles, we ensure our staff feel valued and supported, which helps us deliver on our promise to provide an excellent, modern, and agile Fire & Rescue Service. Together, we work to protect and safeguard our community, with the right people, at the right time, and with the right skills to keep everyone safe.
If there are any adaptions or adjustments, we can make to help you in your application, or with our recruitment process, please contact us via e-mail or telephone.
Interested in applying to become a wholetime firefighter? Click the button below to apply
Make sure you are firefighter-fit in preparation for your role related tests. Below are the types of role related tests we will ask you to complete.
This tests your aerobic fitness, stamina, upper and lower body strength, and coordination.
You’ll need to carry the equipment over a 25-metre course within 6 minutes. However, you will be encouraged by your instructors to push yourself to achieve your best time.
The course will include a combination of shuttle runs, hose reel run, hose reel carry, hard suction basket strainer carry, 25kg barbell pick up and carry and a 55kg casualty drag.
This is not a test of memory as the safety officer will remind you of the sequence of events.
In this test we will look at how confident and agile you are, working with limited vision and within tight spaces.
Wearing a breathing apparatus set with a disconnected face mask, you will be required to navigate a rope guided course with your vision obscured. The course may include negotiating doors, steps, and other obstructions. You may also have to progress through small openings, tunnels, and other restricted spaces. You will be supported by one of our recruitment team to ensure your safety.
This helps us to identify if you have any claustrophobic tendencies.
In this test we will look at how confident you are at climbing ladders and your co-ordination when working at hight. It also demonists your ability to follow instructions. As a Firefighter you may need to work at heights up to 32 metres.
While in full PPE and attached to a safety line you’ll be required to climb a 13.5m (45 foot) ladder to a specific point. Around two-thirds of the full working height, take a leg lock, remove your hands from the ladder, look down to the assessor below where you will be asked to identify a set of letters, numbers, or symbols.
This is a test of your upper and lower body strength and coordination.
You’ll need to raise the ladder lift simulator bar above your head to a height of 190cm (6 foot 2 inches) and lower it safely under control. The bar assembly weighs 15kg, on the first lift an addition 5kg will be added. On the second lift a further 10kg will be added making the lift a total weight of 30kg.
This test combines upper body strength, grip and co-ordination.
You’ll need to extend a 10.5 ladder by six rounds and trigger the safety lock.
Top Tips: Grasp the line with two hands at a high level, bending the knees slightly and looking forward, not up. Use a “hand over hand” technique to extend the ladder.
Download our handy guide to help you prepare for our fitness tests.
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