Fire Service Emergency Response Controller - West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

Kirklees Council are advertising this role on behalf of West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service.

You answer the call -

“Help me! My house is on fire and me and my kids can’t get out. We were asleep and the fire alarm woke us up. I don’t know what to do. There’s smoke everywhere and my feet are burning, and my kids can’t stop coughing. We’re going to die. I can’t remember if I blew out the candles in the living room. It’s getting really hot, and I can’t breathe.”

If you feel you have, or could have the skills to answer this call, you could be what we’re looking for.

As a Fire Service Emergency Response Controller, you are the first point of contact when receiving 999 calls from members of the public and other agencies relating to requests for emergency and non-emergency assistance.

Your role is to gather information, to decide the best course of action, mobilise operational crews and inform other agencies of need for support services. Consider all factors which influence an efficient and effective response, provide fire safety advice to callers, including determining risks to their safety and advising on immediate action until Firefighters arrive, including ongoing support through to conclusion of the incident.

You will need to be a highly effective communicator, whilst remaining calm and focused under emotionally challenging situations. You will have the ability to make decisions based on the assessment of risk and be an effective team player in a dynamic environment.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Incident management
• Maintaining information on Emergency Fire Service operational resources
• Maintain reliability and readiness of control operations equipment
• Enter and integrate data and present information using a computer system

This role is based around a shift system which operates a rolling 8 day pattern of: day, day, night, night, 4 days off.

About you:

• Ideally you will have experience in a similar role or be a confident and effective telephone communicator.
• Be empathetic and have good listening skills
• You must possess a GCSE grade C English and Maths (or equivalent level 2 numeracy and literacy qualification) or have obtained an NVQ level 3 emergency fire services control operations qualification.
• An aptitude and motivation to undertake an initial training course which will be Monday to Friday 0800-1600
• Commit to continuous professional development.
• Undertake take audio tests and a touch-typing assessment at a minimum of 30 words, per minute.

There is a medical required for this role which must be passed prior to a contract being offered.

Further information about the role and the person specification can be found in the Job Description.

About us:

WYFRS serves a population of more than two million spread over an area of almost 800 square miles. Fire cover is provided 24/7 365 days a year.

At WYFRS communities are at the heart of everything we do. We know how important it is to be representative of the communities we serve and we have always committed to creating an inclusive approach to our recruitment process to ensure that we are hiring from a diverse talent pool of people. We can offer support and adjustments for anyone who experiences barriers to work that result from health conditions or specific learning requirements.

We have been rated ‘good’ by HMICFRS in all areas of our service.

We offer personalised training, coaching and mentoring programmes throughout your career

We offer a range of employee benefits including (please see the Terms and Conditions for an exhaustive list):

• 28 days annual leave
• Full uniform provided
• Pension scheme
• Free on-site parking
• Employee assistance programme - comprehensive and flexible psychological support service to all our staff.
• Sports and social clubs including football tournaments, dragon boat racing and discounted tickets to events
• Free use of on-site gym and time during your shift for welfare.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Eligibility to join blue light card rewards.

For more details, and to apply, please visit the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service Careers Site.