New Firefighters ready for action

Twenty two brand new Firefighters will be joining their Stations over the next few weeks, after graduating from a gruelling 12 week course, in a special ceremony last night at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s Training Centre in Cardiff.

Proud family and friends watched as the trainees showed off their new skills, giving a light hearted presentation covering the 12 week course, tackling a large simulated fire, and cutting out casualties from a road crash scenario.

Kevin Barry, Assistant Chief Officer, at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, presented the new Firefighters with their certificates. He paid tribute to the families and friends of the new Firefighters for their support, and explained that the role of the modern day Firefighter extends far beyond what many people imagine.

“During this 12 week intensive course, our trainees have gained physical skills and communication skills, and have covered a huge range of subjects including various kinds of fire-fighting, dealing with chemical incidents, road traffic collisions, aircraft, train crashes, water rescue, providing fire safety advice to schools, and community groups and carrying specialised home fire safety visits to people’s homes. We expect a lot of our trainees, because the public expect a lot of their Firefighters. They have been expertly trained to an extremely high standard, which will remain with them for the rest of their career. This evening is just the start of an exciting journey for our trainees. From here on, they will build on the knowledge, experience and skills they have gained during the past 12 weeks, with the help of their colleagues on Stations. We wish them every success in their new careers”.

Four Firefighters will be joining Penarth Fire Station, and amongst them is Carl John, who won the coveted Silver Axe at last night’s ceremony. The Silver Axe is awarded to the trainee who has consistently displayed continuing perseverance throughout the course, improving their overall standard in all aspects and activities.

25 year old Carl, who lives in Port Talbot, was a professional lifeguard before joining the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. He’ll start his first shift at Penarth Fire Station on Saturday 6th May.

“I’m really looking forward to getting on with the job, helping the public” he said.