From supermarket to superheroes

On-call firefighters, Steve Scott and Liam Smith.
On-call firefighters, Steve Scott and Liam Smith.

Saving lives in their own community is the driving force behind Steve Scott and Liam Smith’s dedication to being on-call firefighters.

Thanks to the support of their employers Tesco at Market Rasen, the two can also carry out duties such as attending road traffic accidents, carrying out rescues and, of course, fighting fires.

And because Market Rasen’s fire station is handily placed just yards away from where they work, they can be on-route to any emergency within minutes.

Watch Manager Steve has been serving as an on-call firefighter for 26 years. He said: “I do it for the community I live in and I love helping people.”

“Every time the alerter goes off there is that rush of adrenalin, and at the end of the incident, there is every chance that we have saved a life – that in itself is so rewarding.”

“Neither Liam nor I would be able to do this if it wasn’t for the support of our employers or our families, who have to deal with us dashing off whenever there is an emergency.”

Market Rasen’s Tesco store manager Jen Allmond said she would urge other employers to support staff wanting to join the on-call ranks.

“We don’t look at it as losing our staff for periods of time,” she said. “They are going out into this community and saving lives. That’s how we look at it.”

“But as employers it is reassuring to know that we have trained first aiders and those with fire safety knowledge in store if they are needed either to help their colleagues or our customers.

“We would encourage any employers to think about this in the same way. It is something we can do for the community in which we do business.”

Many of Lincolnshire’s firefighters, especially in rural areas, are ‘on-call’ – often with other jobs or responsibilities. The role of a firefighter can often be scheduled around these other commitments.”

The outbreak of Covid 19 has meant training courses for new fire-fighters have been altered to take into account the restrictions. To find out more about becoming an on-call firefighter in Lincolnshire, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/lfr 

Published: 2nd September 2020