Shropshire ladies get taste of firefighting life
Women with a burning desire to prove that firefighting isn't solely a man's world got a taste for the service at a recruitment day.[gallery]
More than a dozen women were shown around Oswestry fire station and tried on the full gear including breathing apparatus.
Those who passed a basic fitness test and liked what they saw on Saturday will now be referred to a full training course with the aim of becoming retained firefighters.
Lisa Baer, who lives in Market Drayton, said she was hoping to join as soon as possible.
She said: "It has been a really good experience being shown around the station by the lads and it was really eye-opening getting to see how everything worked.
"We got to dress up in all the gear, try out the breathing apparatus and sit in the cab of one of the engines and I am more than up for signing up to be a retained firefighter.
"It shocked me that up to about 80 per cent of Shropshire's firefighters are on-call and can be sent to emergency situations by a beeper, so I have learned a lot and I want to make a go of it." Another having her first taste of the inside of the fire station in Mount Road was Paula King, 27, from Cabin Lane in Oswestry.
She said: "It has been a couple of years since I gave birth to my daughter so I want to get my toe into something and this has been the perfect introduction. It's something completely different."
Sara Davies, who also lives in Oswestry, said: "It has been a great day and I am ready to sign up now to become a retained firefighter."
Recruiting females to join the team has been a priority for station manager John Davies, who said anybody interested in joining should turn up at the station between 7pm and 9pm on a Wednesday night.
He said: "We have had females in the past, we had two girls and they were brilliant. Some women have said to me in the past that they wonder whether they can do it, but there are training courses and general fitnesses assessments and then you are treated 100 per cent as a vital part of the team.
"The ladies' day on Saturday was a great chance to meet some new keen faces and I am delighted that they all seemed really up to the challenge."
He said drill nights were held at the fire station on Wednesday evenings between 7pm and 9pm for those interested.
For more visit information www.shropshirefire.gov.uk
