by Kate Heaney
DONEGAL County Council has launched a county-wide recruitment drive for retained firefighters across the county.
Up to 45 new retained firefighters are being recruited to fill vacancies to bring the total number of retained firefighters to 147 across the 15 retained fire stations.
A Retained Firefighter is a professional firefighter, who is paid an annual retainer for being available on a 24/7 basis and also paid for actual hours worked.
They must live and work within 3km of their assigned fire station and at a location acceptable to the Chief Fire Officer.
They carry an emergency pager or alerter with them at all times and respond to their station when it goes off.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dermot Brady outlined what those interested in applying can expect.
“If your house is on fire you want the best possible people coming out to deal with it. Being a fire fighter is a massive commitment 24/7,” said Mr Brady.
“We have to assess training suitability, they need to climb ladders so near fear of heights. We give people the opportunity to come in and try these things out. Numeracy and literacy are important but not languages.
“Our aim is to put out fires. We welcome people from all sectors of the community and they must be fit and strong aged between 18 and 58 years.
“The first training course is three weeks long and we like to give them the best opportunity to pass that course. It gives them a chance not to have to give up a job they are in and then discover they are not suitable to be firefighters.
“It costs around €27,000 to put a firefighter through basic training and the Personal Protection equipment is around €7,000.”
Since October of last year the minimum guaranteed salary for a new retained firefighter is €18,905 gross, or approximately €362 per week, rising to €22,203 gross per annum, or approximately €425 per week based on years of service.
In addition to the annual retainer, retained fire fighters are paid an hourly rate of €23.75 per hour from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday and €47.50 per hour at all other times (public holidays attract the higher rate of pay).
Retained Firefighters also attend a 2-hour weekly on-station (drill night) training and undergo regular refresher training in certain areas to maintain their skills. Drill night training is paid at a rate of €47.50 per hour.
In the busier stations where there is more than 100 calls per year, they could earn more than €30,000 per annum.
“We now have structured time off for our fire fighters,” added Mr Brady.
“Fire fighters don’t get to choose which emergencies they can attend. They find out where they are going when they answer their pagers and arrive at the fire station. Many call outs can be minor but we do attend serious situations.
“It is a paid service and the payments have increased.”
Application forms are available in the Recruitment section of the Donegal County Council website www.donegalcoco.ie The website also includes an information document produced by the Fire Service entitled ‘Why join your Local Fire Brigade’.
As part of the recruitment campaign the Fire Service is organising Open Nights in all Retained Fire Stations with posters and flyers also being distributed.
l Completed applications should be submitted by email to vacancies@donegalcoco.ie no later than 12:00 noon on Monday, February 19, 2024
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