Urgent Help RAF Firefighter

no1gymbunny

My fella is a techie in the RAF and plays station football and has played RAF U25's many years back. Keep it simple :-

Your Hernia is a problem not so much medical wise but with training and what not would be best to get it sorted but speak to AFCO.

There is a shortage of firemen but a good reason for this. Not the most challenging jobs ie like mentioned previous volleyball, rescuing cats and the bore CCS fire briefs etc etc my fella has loads of firemen mates through football of which are just getting experience and banging out to get with the civvie fire service.

You can travel home to see girlfriends and family etc etc but limited during training. Once qualified you will go on to shifts ie 4 days 4 nights 6 off. These are just an example of shifts.

And don't worry about sitting on your own over dinner. They're a bunch of clicky sods that sit on a table of their own because no-one else has the intellect in the RAF of a 6 year old.

Hope this helps.

jacand

And don't worry about sitting on your own over dinner. They're a bunch of clicky sods that sit on a table of their own because no-one else has the intellect in the RAF of a 6 year old.

There is a reason they all sit together, if they get a shout, which they do sometimes over lunch. They all have to leave quickly, they also have to take one vehicle to lunch and all leave at the same time.
Most common shouts they get are "hot brakes" which means an aircraft is coming in with hot brakes and they have to wait on the runway for it to come in safely and when it lands ensure that there is no risk.
They also get loads of false alarms, such as "thunder bugs" in fire alarms. People making toast in barrack blocks and around camp at break times.
They also control the whole station's fire fighting appliances and service them. Ensuring that they are good to go when needed.
Yes it can be boring sitting around waiting for the call, but they usually have Sky tv and do play lots of sport. My section had their own gym which the guys used when they liked. They also had a their own bar and bbq area. In the summer they would have section beer calls which were great.
True once you join you become part of their family, which is great cause everyone looks out for everyone else. I have never know such a great community.

WhiteThierry

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

Dear God! What Air Force are some of you in? It can't be the Royal Air Force as some of these comments are complete bollox (or have you only been in the job no more that 5 minutes?

A lot of trades work shift systems, Police, medics, techies (especially at Strike Units, who do you think covers the Quick Reaction Forces???!!)


hence why i merely said if you dont want to work weekends then think about another trade, i never said no other trades work shifts!!!


ps you will get to see the world if you're a fireman, but there are much nicer parts of the world than falklands, basra and afghanistan which is the main places you'll go to as a fireman

JPAISPANTS

If you are considering joining up as a firefighter, here's some infor that may help you decide! RAF Fire Fighters are undermanned atm, and they go on detachments 4 months out of every 12 roughly, this may change once Basrah is withdrawn as a detachment. I have known some guys go on Ops only to be notifiesd as soon as they have returned they that are selected to go away again, but things are improving slowly! RAF Firefighters also currently get an enhanced retention incentive bonus, in addition to the £15,000 you get for signing on the dotted line (the £15k is payable to you after 7 years service and is tax and NI deducatalbe and you commit to servve until your 9yr point!), please be aware that with the addtional retention incentive bonus that you are commiting yourself to a return of service, so if you decide to leave after accepting a bonus then you are stuck in until your time is complete, unless you pay the bonus back in full! Other than that, if your serious then go for it, there are far worse jobs to do than being in the RAF!

swood016

ktuludays wrote: »

if you want to earn lots of cash for doing very little with no responsibility then become an admin clerk. you get top pay level for doing nowt.

Wrong again. We do have responsibility and we have piles and piles of work that never ends. :mad:

Are you even in the RAF?

To say you wont see much of the world as an RAF Firefighter is a riddiculous statement. They spend more time away than at home.

Shassa

Sorry to revive an old post, but does anyone know if the RAF are still recruiting Firefighters?

My son went to the Careers Office with the intent on joining as a Firefighter and he was told they aren't recruiting FF's and haven't for some time, and currently only recruiting 9 out of 60 trades!

boo81

My partner works with firefighters and recruits are constantly coming through, so it implies that firefighters are being recruited. He isnt aware of any shortages though as some people have indicated.

Training for firefighters includes 18 weeks in Manston-which is remote, but they do get a half day on Fridays to help with travelling time.

If you have recovered from the hernia this shouldnt cause a problem but if it flares up during training then it would cause issues.

I hope this helps

jacand

Shassa wrote: »

Sorry to revive an old post, but does anyone know if the RAF are still recruiting Firefighters?

My son went to the Careers Office with the intent on joining as a Firefighter and he was told they aren't recruiting FF's and haven't for some time, and currently only recruiting 9 out of 60 trades!

They are so undermanned I can't understand why they would say they weren't recruiting. I would be careful with the careers office, as if they have a shortage of some trades, they will favour this above others and try and push you into joining them. To hear it from the horses mouth I would contact Manston to find out.

pippa123

Hey my partner is 24 and thinking about joining the raf as a firefighter is this too old? Also if it is is it too old for the other trades? He has wo a levels do these help at all in the raf?

snowball1972

pippa123 wrote: »

Hey my partner is 24 and thinking about joining the raf as a firefighter is this too old? Also if it is is it too old for the other trades? He has wo a levels do these help at all in the raf?

24 is nowhere near too old, only problem just now is the lack of recruitment, but he needs to visit an AFCO for the latest info.