yelverton Fire Station is calling on younger people at home during the day to consider becoming an on-call firefighter in their community to fill gaps in their ranks.

Watch commander Fred Glanville has been a member of the on-call crew for more than 30 years and says many of his comrades are of a similar vintage.

He wants to ‘future proof’ the fire station and hopes local parents whose children are becoming more independent might be able to take on day-time shifts in the week. On-call firefighters are paid a retainer when on call as well as a fee for every callout. The crew train at their station on the Princetown Road every Monday night from 7pm. They are holding a recruitment events this Saturday morning from 10am at the station, to which all are welcome. All training is provided, with a requirement to be physically fit and also to live near enough to the station to attend a call within five minutes. ‘We are struggling a little bit,’ said Fred. ‘We are down to eight crew and we should have 12. What is most worrying is that a lot of us are getting on a bit and we don’t have many more active years.

‘Obviously the old retirement age was 55, before the age discrimination laws you had to retire at 55. Now, as long as you are fit you are free to carry, but obviously the older you get, you do slow down. I’m 63 and there are several others who are 63. Five of us are over 60. If five of us left, there would only be three left, so I’m trying to recruit so that when I retire they won’t be in a big fix. That is my job at the moment.’

He said being a firefighters was enjoyable, as well a good thing to do for the community.

‘We are fairly flexible, we are very friendly. Most of the people at Yelverton Fire Station enjoy being there, that is why so many of us have been here for so long.‘Really it is a nice thing to do,’ he said. ‘Lots of fellas are seeing it as something they want to do, but we are not just looking for fellas, we are looking for women too.’

The recent changes in the way on-call firefighters are paid mean that the financial deal is in fact much better now than for much of Fred’s time in the service, though no one could rely on the money for their sole income.

Fred suggests, though, that it can be a useful sideline for people who are at home in the day. ‘It is a nice way to earn a bit of money without having to go to work every day, because most of the time your on call but while you are pottering around doing all the things you would normally do.’ He said for job satisfaction, the job was hard to beat – and you even on occasion get to save someone’s life, as was the case when the crew saved a priest’s life after he had a heart attack after being cut out of the wreckage of his car in an accident. ‘People we have have all done lots of years and stayed because they really enjoy it,’ said Fred. ‘They enjoy the banter and the camraderie. Hand on heart, I can say I always enjoy coming into work.’