Being an on-call firefighter is an extremely popular and rewarding career. There are so many great things we can say about working for Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS), but here are some of the best parts of being an on-call firefighter:
- The satisfaction of knowing that every time you respond to your station you are genuinely helping your community and making a difference to people’s lives.
- The opportunity to learn new skills, progress and be promoted in your second career.
- The chance to test yourself and reach the potential you never knew you had.
- You will join the fire and rescue service family where most of your work will be focused on providing a response to emergencies including fires and road traffic collisions.
- Occupational health and paid holidays.
- You will earn a second income for providing this invaluable service to your community. As a trainee on-call firefighter, you will initially be placed on the trainee rate of pay. Upon completion of your training your pay will increase to the development rate until you have completed your development phase and are deemed competent. You will then be paid at the appropriate competent rate of pay. Annual salary and other payments are detailed in the table below.
- Paid annual leave – the current paid annual leave entitlement for a full cover on-call firefighter is 30 days, rising to 33 days after five years continuous service.
Salary
| Trainee | Development | Competent | |
| Annual on-call retaining fee Full cover | £4,240 | £4,416 | £5,651 |
| Annual on-call retaining fee Part cover | £2,827 | £2,944 | £3,768 |
| Hourly rate | £12.91 | £13.44 | £17.20 |
| Cost per attendance | £11.41 | £11.68 | £13.56 |
| Cost per turnout | £17.87 | £18.40 | £22.16 |
| Drill night fee | £25.81 | £26.89 | £34.41 |
Example earnings per month
Example earnings per month based on 2025 full cover rates of pay, competent salary and one turnout and one attendance.
| Activity | Earnings per month |
|---|---|
| On-Call retainer (full cover) | £470.92 |
| Drill night fee (based on four nights) | £137.64 |
| Turnout fee (one turnout) | £22.16 |
| Attendance fee (one attendance) | £13.56 |
| £644.28 |
Example of earnings for attendance of training courses
Example of earnings for on-call firefighters attending training courses as of July 2024.
| Trainee | Development | Competent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | £12.91 | £13.44 | £17.20 |
| Hours per day | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Daily rate | £108.43 | £112.92 | £144.48 |
Eligibility
Becoming an on-call firefighter with AF&RS is a really valuable choice of career and one which will benefit both you and your community; however there are some criteria which we ask for:
- You must live and/or work within five minutes of your local on-call fire station (situated in Bath, Blagdon, Chew Magna, Clevedon, Nailsea, Paulton, Pill, Portishead, Radstock, Thornbury, Weston-super-Mare, Winscombe, Yate, and Yatton).
- You must be aged 18 or over when firefighter training starts.
- You must be physically fit, and have good upper body strength, hearing and eyesight.
- You must be offering the level of cover your local on-call fire station requires.
- You must have GCSEs grade A-C in Maths and English or equivalent or be prepared to undertake Maths and English tests as part of the selection process.
Before applying it is important to consider your current occupation (your primary employment), particularly if this involves driving duties. Please read about driving and the EU Drivers Hours and Tachograph Rules for Goods Vehicles which may apply to you. All applicants are required to complete a driving questionnaire as part of their application.
Drivers hours’ and tachograph rules
Please read the following important information about the EU Drivers’ Hours and Tachograph Rules for Goods Vehicles (Regulation 561/2006) which might affect you if you are applying for the role of on-call firefighter.
The EU Drivers’ Hours and Tachograph Rules for Goods Vehicles came into effect in April 2007 and exist to ensure the health and safety of mobile workers and drivers of in scope vehicles. The purpose of the rules is to limit driving time and ensure proper break and rest periods are taken so that road traffic collisions are prevented.
The rules apply to certain categories of ‘mobile workers’, the most common being drivers of Large Goods Vehicles (LGV) and Passenger Service Vehicles (PSV) – ‘in-scope vehicles’.
- Mobile workers include any driver or member of vehicle crew, including trainees or apprentices, who operate transport services for passengers or goods by road, for hire or reward or on its own account. For the purposes of this legislation, vehicle crew could include porters involved in household removals, draymen in brewery delivery movements, conductors, loaders, navigators or security.
- The most common types of mobile workers will be drivers of Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs) with an overall weight over 3.5 tonnes and Passenger Service Vehicles (PSVs) with more than nine seats or travelling more than 50 kilometres. These are called in-scope vehicles. Vehicles used by the fire and rescue service are automatically exempt from the rules but applicants who drive in-scope vehicles for their primary or secondary employment will still be covered by these regulations.
Although fire and rescue service vehicles are exempt, the rules do apply where a firefighter holds a second job which involves driving. In this case all the strict breaks and rest periods must be adhered to, even if that firefighter only drives in scope vehicles for a short period of time.
The rules particularly apply to on-call firefighters and will impact on the ability of an on-call firefighter who drives an in-scope vehicle during their primary employment to get appropriate rest periods. This will also affect their availability to provide firefighter cover. It has therefore been deemed unlawful for us to employ an individual whose primary or other employment conflicts with the rules and we will be unable to accept an application from you if you are a mobile worker driving an in-scope vehicle.
If you are unsure as to whether you drive an in-scope vehicle you should seek advice from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). For all other questions regarding an application for on-call firefighter please contact the Recruitment Team.