'We balance on-call firefighting with our day jobs'

Niomi Hudspith and James Lawson have both become on-call firefighters while balancing other employment

"One night I jumped out of bed and turned up to the station with odd socks and a t-shirt on inside-out."

As one of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service's (DFRS) newest on-call recruits, James Lawson has learned that emergencies can strike anytime, even when he is in the shower with shampoo still in his hair.

On 27 July, DFRS welcomed 15 on-call firefighters after they completed initial training.

Now ready to respond at a moment's notice, the service said they will start their careers at stations across the county, some while balancing other employment.

Deputy chief fire officer, Clive Stanbrook, said all 15 recruits had received "the highest possible level of training from a dedicated team of professionals"

Niomi Hudspith, from Long Eaton, said she was inspired to sign up after her school friend also became an on-call firefighter.

Knowing she could not commit to a full-time role because of her young son, Niomi said: "We have a system where we make our availability known and I can fit them around socialising with my son."

Niomi, who also works for a cleaning business, said she has sometimes had to attend an emergency outside her preferred hours at the drop of a hat.

"I did get a call when I took my mum shopping and we had lots of meats in the car, so unfortunately it all went off and we had to bin it all because I had to go," Niomi said.

"You are really proud of yourself at the end of the day when you go home and then it rears you up for the next day to go back in and do it all over again. It's really fun."

James, who is also head of IT governance and audit for an insurance company, said: "Most of my time is spent doing my day job but I am available when the pager goes off."

Since joining the fire service, James said while his colleagues fully supported his new part-time role, they have jokingly asked how many cats he has saved from trees.

"When I work at home I am now prepped by wearing my blue uniform so I can just grab my keys and be off," James added.

"I think I've only been in one meeting where I've had to close my laptop and run out."

James, who is based at Matlock fire station, said despite trying to be as organised as possible, he can still sometimes be caught off-guard.

"I've been in the shower with shampoo in my hair and then the pager goes off again and I thought 'that can't be another shout', so I just turned up at the station with wet hair.

After turning up in odd-socks and a back-to-front t-shirt on one occasion, James said he now keeps a spare set of uniform in his locker.