WILTON fire station is looking for new recruits.

A “have a go” event is being held at the station on Saturday to give people the chance to find out more about becoming an on-call firefighter.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service needs new recruits to provide fire cover for the town and its surrounding villages.

On-call firefighters make themselves available to respond to a pager when a 999 call is made, and cover is needed at all times.

Contracted hours can vary, but on-call personnel usually make themselves available for between 48 and 120 hours per week. Between them, each fire station team will provide cover for weekdays, evenings, nights and weekends.

Potential recruits are invited to visit the fire station in Minster Street between 10am and 2pm to meet the crew and have a go at using some of the equipment carried on a fire engine.

Crew manager Chris Edge said: The easiest way to see if being a firefighter is for you is to visit the fire station, have a chat with the crew and try your hand at different things. We’re inviting potential recruits to come along, take a look around, and try out some of the equipment.He added: “On-call firefighters receive the same training and development as wholetime colleagues, and we can be called to all manner of emergencies, including fires, road traffic collisions, animal rescues and flooding. The pay does vary, depending on how much cover you give, but”It is fantastically rewarding to be a part of your community and to be in a position to help people.”

In order to be on-call, candidates will need to be able to respond to the fire station in around five minutes once their pager goes off. This can be from home or work.

Anyone interested in being a firefighter in Wilton who is unable to attend this event can call into the station on any Wednesday evening or get more information from dwfire.org.uk/wilton.