Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) has seen four new Control Firefighters graduate after more than twelve weeks of training and eighteen months of further development.

In a ceremony held at Kingswood Fire Station, friends and family watched on as the new Control Firefighters were presented with certificates of achievement.

Chief Fire Officer Simon Shilton said: “What a delight it is to begin 2023 by welcoming such a fantastic group of individuals into our Service for what I hope will be long and successful careers as Control Firefighters.”

“Our graduates should all be incredibly proud of everything that they have achieved so far, and I’d like to thank them for all their efforts.”

Firefighter Control (FFC) Joseph Pomphrey, Rachel Magee, Georgia Morris and Natasha Beaugie have now all passed their two-year probation and final exam and have already proven to be valuable members of the Firefighter Control team.

AF&RS’ newest Service Control Operators will be based at our Communication and Control centre at Lansdown and will be responsible for taking emergency calls and dispatching Fire Appliances and other resources needed to deal with fires and other incidents.

The Service will once again open for applications for Fire Control on 23rd January, hoping to find the next generation of Control Firefighters. If you’re interested, take a look at AF&RS careers website at: https://yesyoucan.careers/index.php/control.