Trainee Firefighter

Trainee Fire Fighter – Gatwick Airport

Be part of helping to rebuild and grow a fitter and stronger Gatwick!

We are passionate, more so than ever, in ensuring we provide our passengers and employees with the best possible experience.

We're looking forward to bringing great people into our business to help us continue to deliver the high standards expected from our passengers. Our people are key to our success, and we want great talent to join us and be part of our journey.

The Opportunity:

Are you looking for your career to take off in a new and exciting role?

Bored of your current role and looking for an opportunity that will offer development, training, and a career? We currently have an amazing opportunity for a Trainee Fire Fighter to join our highly respected Fire Service, which responds to incidents across the whole of the Gatwick Airport Campus. Working as part of a close knit and driven team, in this varied role, where no two days are the same, you will play a pivotal part in ensuring Gatwick has a fully effective Emergency Fire Service. As such we provide a fantastic training programme to ensure we are constantly developing our people to be the best they can be!

In this unique opportunity you will benefit from a generous starting salary of £40,275.23 plus allowances as well as additional company benefits including full training, an onsite gym and canteen.

The Role:

How will I make an impact as a Trainee Fire Fighter at Gatwick?

• Deal with emergency situations such as medical emergencies and other incidents such as road traffic collisions, fires, chemical incidents, and special service calls, both on and off the airport.
• Continuous development to ensure you are able to maintain the required level of technical competence.
• Build and Maintain effective working relationships across the airport campus to ensure an effective integrated response to emergency situations
• Willingness to carry out any other duties that may be outside the standard remit for the purpose of personal development
• Maintain all equipment for operational readiness
• Keep up to date with all relevant regulations to comply with all legal and statutory obligations applicable to this role.
• To carry out roles that support the stable operation of Gatwick Airport such as snow clearing duties during adverse weather conditions
• Willingness and ability to comply with all AFS policy and procedures

What do I need to be a Fire Fighter at Gatwick?

We are looking for people with a genuine passion and commitment to be a Fire Fighter. You will be driven and determined to succeed with the ability and willingness to work to a shift rota that includes days, nights, weekends and religious holidays.

To become a firefighter, you must pass a robust fitness test and medical assessment to determine that you're up to the physical demands of the job. This includes the following:

Physical Assessment

• Bleep Test / Shuttle Run - You'll run between two lines, 20 metres apart. You'll hear a bleep, and before you hear it again, you'll need to run back to the other line. The time between each bleep decreases for each level. You'll need to reach level 8.8 to pass.
• Strength – Various exercises to test strength, including lifting / pulling / pushing.
• Casualty Evacuation - Using both your upper and lower body strength, you'll need to walk backwards while dragging a 55-kilogram dummy around a 30-metre course in a set amount of time.
• Manual Dexterity Against the clock - You will assemble and disassemble a piece of firefighting equipment using pictorial and written instructions.

Medical Assessment

• Hearing Test – you will sit in a soundproof booth wearing headphones and will be asked to press a button when you hear a range of sounds.
• Lung Function – you will be asked to blow hard and long down a hollow tube until all your lung capacity is fully exhaled – a reading is taken and assessed accordingly.
• Eye Test - Firefighters require a certain level of eyesight to enable them to carry out their role, candidates must meet a required standard of vision, colour blindness will also be tested for.

Strengths & Behaviours

Are you?

• Looking for a long-term career in a fantastic environment
• A team player
• Physically fit and able
• Dedicated with a flexible and “can do” approach
• Ability to problem solve and work well under pressure
• Prepared to push physical and mental boundaries when required

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• Valid full UK Driving Licence
• Ability to meet the required medical standard and pass entry tests, and subsequent fitness assessments.
• GCSE (or equivalent) in 5 subjects including Maths and English.

Desirable (Relevant training will be provided if not held)

• Current Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Fire Service (RFFS) certificate of competence for a Fire Fighter
• Competent Local Authority Fire Fighter / experience within the fire service - Desirable
• First Aid at Work
• Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) Licence

Interested? If you're passionate about a career in the Fire Service with the behaviours and experience highlighted above, we would love to hear from you!

We value our people for their differences and are passionate and committed to being an inclusive and diverse employer, encouraging and welcoming applications from all groups of people, especially so from underrepresented groups, offering different perspectives and experiences to make us a more innovative and creative workplace.

Come join the adventure and be part of our journey! 

AFS Recruitment film .mp4