News

Four working group
We have established four working groups under the following headings to collate information from a survey that we are formulating:

Family and Caring

• Pregnancy
• Maternity Policies
• Nursery/kindergarten facilities

Statutes

• Salary
• Retirement
• Definition of a firefighter

Technical and Physical Issues

• Uniform
• Physical fitness

Career/Support

• Promotion
• Culture

Survey

The Commission is working on a survey with questions about working practices, maternity leave and particular issues which affect women. This will be sent to all members and we would ask that everyone participates. The information will be collated and best practice shared.

Definitions

These are our definitions for the persons in fire and rescue services, so you know the background how you answer the survey.

Operational firefighter - A person who uses specialist equipment and clothing to protect themselves from their working environment and who may put themselves at risk to save a life or property. This also includes those who are more senior and who attend incidents in a command role.

Firefighter and other roles. May wear a uniform provided by their employers and carry out a role eg, emergency dispatch, Fire Safety and Prevention but do not attend operational incidents and do not put their lives at risk (as above). Other roles are support roles for the Fire and Rescue Service, eg, IT, administrative tasks, psychologists, teachers, policy writing, etc (There are many definitions within this "other roles")