Bognor Regis retained firefighter among latest crop of recruits

After participating in an intense two week training course with six other recruits, Hayden Platt, demonstrated his new skills at a Pass Out Parade at Worthing Fire Station on Friday (March 3).

Friends, family and colleagues looked on with pride as the new recruits celebrated their hard work ahead of being posted up and down the county.

Retained, or on-call, firefighters are a vital part of the modern fire and rescue service. With 18,000 trained staff across the country, they only man their stations after receiving an emergency call-out. They might be at work or, at home, but, when summoned, they’re expected to drop everything and attend the emergency.

“I feel immensely proud of our new retained firefighters for choosing to join their local fire station to protect and serve the communities of West Sussex,” said assistant chief fire officer Peter Rickard, who gave the recruits their certificates.

"This role doesn’t just involve fighting fires and rescuing people from road traffic collisions, our firefighters will play a pivotal role in helping prevent emergencies from happening in the first place.

“The county has gained seven amazing firefighters and I wish them all long and prosperous careers.”

All seven recruits will go on to serve their communities by responding to emergencies either from their home or their place of work. Although Hayden Platt will be serving Bognor Regis, the other recruits will man fire stations all over West Sussex, including Burgess Hill, Henfield, Storrington and East Grinstead.

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