MALDON fire station is looking for new members for its on-call team.

On-call firefighters are people with everyday lives and jobs who are ready to respond the moment their pager sounds – and then drop everything to get straight to the fire station. They attend local road traffic accidents, fires, floods and other emergencies.

The only requirements for this paid role are that applicants are aged over 18, live or work within five minutes' travel of the town's fire station in Wycke Hill and are generally physically fit, which the Fire Service can help provide training for.

Those who pass the assessment process and are offered employment take a two-week Monday to Friday training course, then attend a two-hour training session once a week for 10 weeks.

Chef James Boothby is an on-call firefighter at nearby Burnham.

The 28-year-old said: "It's inevitable that you're going to be going to incidents involving places and people you know and there are a lot of people who I deal with in my other job who recognise me.

"My work is really good with accommodating my life as an on-call firefighter. When I'm not literally cooking food, they let me go and be available. I feel like I'm giving back to the community and I genuinely enjoy it."

Anyone interested can pop along to a training night at Maldon Fire Station, held every Monday between 7pm and 9pm, for an informal chat to find out more. Alternatively, call 01376 576121 for more details.