Honiton firefighter 'honoured' to serve the community for past decade

A member of Honiton fire crew has spoken out about why he loves being an on-call firefighter, what it entails and why he recommends that others follow the same path.

Having dedicated 10 years to the local fire service, Craig Sluman believes that following in his uncle's footsteps to become a firefighter was written in the stars.

"He was a firefighter at Seaton for 18 years so I grew up around someone already in that role," he said.

"I have pictures of me at around five or six years old sat in the driver's seat of a fire appliance."

The adrenaline rush when his pager goes off is one of the best parts of the job, alongside the chance to give support and emergency response to the local community that he works within.

"It's an honour to respond and help the people in the town that I have grown up and live in," said Craig.

"Every incident we attend is potentially the worst day of someone's life or the most traumatic thing they have encountered," added Craig.

"So knowing that we have done everything we can to help them and resolve the situation they find themselves in is incredibly rewarding."

The large variety of incidents that firefighters attend - apart from fires – include road traffic collisions, animal rescues, flooding, assisting the ambulance service and many more.

At Honiton, where Craig works, they also have an Incident Command Unit which doubles up as a National Enhance Logistics Support Vehicle which can get mobilised anywhere in the country.

When he first joined, Craig was surprised by the support and aftercare that the Service offers its staff after a traumatic incident.

He said: "It's very important that we all talk openly about what we have experienced on jobs and the Service mobilises a trained officer to facilitate these sessions.

"The Service looks after their staff very well and I find it very useful."

Craig was keen to let people know about the free home and business safety advice that the Service offers and checks carried out by trained advocates.

"If in doubt, get it checked out," he said.

In terms of joining the fire service, Craig recommends going to any taster days that are being held and speaking to your local crew about the jobs they do and the cover they give.

He said: "Stop thinking and get on with it. It's such a rewarding job in so many ways, everyone has different skill sets and assets they bring to the table.

"I've been an on-call firefighter for 11 years, I love it and wouldn't change anything, it's been a fantastic career so far."

This week is national on-call firefighter awareness week. For more information on becoming an on-call firefighter click here.