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B4 Wantage Fire Station Area & Call Outs

Wantage Fire Station serves an area over 90 square miles. The patch is a D risk area, the Home Office requires that a fire engine is in attendance within 20 minutes, our average response time is 8 minutes.

In addition to covering our own patch we regularly provide back up support to Didcot, Abingdon, Faringdon and occasionally further a field.

We answer an average of 250 -300 calls per year. These include house fires, barn and field fires, shop and factory fires, flooding, rescues and road traffic accidents, even the odd cat up a tree

Retained Firefighters - Part Time Professionals

Wantage is a retained station; the Firefighters carry Alerters, which are activated by our control centre at Headquarters in Kidlington. Any time of day or night, the crew may be called upon to rapidly turn out in response to an emergency call. An important requirement for recruits is that they are able to respond to the fire station within five minutes of a call out.

Being a retained firefighter is very exciting and rewarding. Every shout is different; we never know what to expect. There is great camaraderie between the crew members, who work together as a team in all kinds of situations.

One minute we are at work, or at home relaxing, a few minutes later we are in our fire kit, on the fire engine, with the two tone sirens blaring, the blue lights flashing, not knowing what situation we are about to encounter, adrenaline levels sky high. No two shouts are ever the same.

There is also satisfaction to be gained from serving the local community, the crew are very much part of village life, attending fetes, giving demonstrations, having groups of both young people and the elderly visiting the station.

Fire safety awareness and community education is a key part of the job. We are involved in various fire safety initiatives, such as the campaign to Ban the Chip Pan, smoke alarm awareness and electric blanket safety testing.

We are also active fundraisers for Local and National charities, such as Children in Need and the Fire Services National Benevolent Fund. Anything goes;  rowing challenge, car wash, just street collections.

The social aspect is a very important part of the job, and we arrange nights out, family days, BBQs etc.

Wantage crew

Being part of the crew at Wantage, is like an extended family, people with a vast range of skills that will work together, play together, and stick together through thick and thin.

Training

We train every Tuesday night, 7 to 9pm. In addition to the weekly drill nights there are various training courses available for recruits, from Firefighting, First Aid, Breathing Apparatus, HGV Driving, through to Officer training at Moreton in Marsh. Although there is a very serious aspect to the work we do, we always try to keep it fun and enjoyable. I am pleased to say that the days of militaristic squad drills on the yard are a thing of the past, and enjoyment is a key element in our training programme.

Fees

The hourly rate of pay for retained firefighters has been brought into line with that of the full time firefighter, and a realistic wage of around £400 per month is quite normal

Wantage  Crewing Levels - New Recruits Needed!

We are very lucky at Wantage that we have good level of crewing that said we are always interested to hear from people that may wish to join us!

Could You Become A Retained Firefighter?

• Do you live or work in the Wantage area?

• Are you between 18 and 55 years, generally fit?

• Keen to learn new skills and to work as part of a team?
• Do you want to put something back in the community

The cover that you give can be adapted to suit your lifestyle, e.g. day cover if you work locally, or night and weekend cover whilst you are at home. It does not have to be full cover, we can be flexible, if you have a varied shift pattern, if the time you have available has to fit around a school timetable, family arrangements or other work commitments, it is still possible to become a retained fire-fighter.

The Recruitment Process

You are very welcome to come up to the fire station on a Tuesday night, meet the crew, watch us drill and find out more. Simply telephone the officer in charge of station and arrange a visit.

If you decide that you would like to apply, the first step is to contact the hotline number to ask for an application pack. Once your paperwork is returned, you will be booked onto a recruitment selection day; these are held roughly every 2 or 3 months at Didcot station. 

Recruitment Hotline 0800 5 870 870

The crew of B4 will be happy to help prepare you for the day, advise on an exercise programme etc. On the day you will undertake various tests. A ladder climb to check you are OK with heights, a test to see if you suffer from claustrophobia, physical strength tests, aerobic measurements, height and weight etc. A very simple English and maths assessment. These are followed by a medical and an interview.

Once you pass the selection day you will be given a date for basic training at Didcot, this is a Ten day course on basic fire fighting and associated skills. A safety assessment is then carried out, pass that successfully and you will be riding with us on the fire engine before you know it!

There are many more further training opportunities as you progress through the two year probation period, these are mainly over weekends, so that any disruption to your main employment is kept to a minimum.

Equal Opportunity Policy

Oxfordshire County Council is an equal opportunity employer. The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service are committed to providing equality of opportunity to every member of the community it serves. This also extends to all employees or potential employees.

We have a Fairness and Dignity at Work policy, whereby everyone within our organisation has a right to be treated with respect, regardless of race, colour, gender, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We are all different, but all equal, we respect differences.

Traditionally, the job of the fire fighter has been carried out by a white male, we are now seeking to redress the balance, to encourage more women and members of ethnic minority groups to become fire fighters. By reflecting the communities we serve, we can provide a more effective service to meet their needs.

Need More Information?

• Wantage fire station Fire Station:
• Watch manager  Tony Whiting 01235 762124

• Recruitment Hotline: 0800 5 870 870

• Online Information Request: Click here

  Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters:
• 01865 842999