About us

Covering the whole of Suffolk, we have a budget in the region of £20 million, where we employ around 675 people and have 35 Fire Stations.  In addition to attending fires and road traffic collisions we also prepare to respond to a wide variety of emergencies, including serious flooding and dealing with the aftermath of terrorism.  Another highly important area of work is prevention which keeps homes safe; our practitioners visit elderly and vulnerable people in the county offering home fire safety advice and we work with the local community and other agencies to boost their safety in ways that are relevant to them. The Prevention department also understands the importance of educating and developing young people, whether this be via Spark (Suffolk Fire and Rescue’s Education Package), Crucial Crew or our School Fire Liaison Officers. The Protection department carry out audits to ensure that commercial premises have the correct level of fire safety in place and enforce The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order.  As society is today, we are also continually exploring how we better collaborate with other emergency services and we frequently share premises, work and train alongside our emergency service colleagues. 

One of the most important factors of any successful organisation are the people who make all the above happen. You may be surprised to find that behind the flashing blue lights and the excellent work that both whole time and on call Firefighters do, day in and day out, we have teams of people who also play a vitally important role in making Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service function effectively. We have our own workshops whose engineers ensure the wide range of vehicles are maintained and available. Our IT department works hard to ensure that all the communication and recording systems function and are developed.  Business Support staff play an equally important role in ensuring that Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service keeps the people in Suffolk safer, throughout the year. 

So, if you are thinking about taking your first steps into employment you may now want to consider a rewarding career with Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.   All current vacancies, apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities are listed here: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/suffolk-fire-and-rescue-service/working-and-volunteering-for-fire-and-rescue/

Work with us

You can help and be a part of the Suffolk Fire and Rescue service in many ways, including:

Becoming an On-Call Firefighter

On-call firefighters are a vital part of Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service; working in small towns or villages from home or their place of work. On average, you could be called out 2 or 3 times a week for a couple of hours. It's not a problem if you aren't available all the time.

Who can apply?

• You must be 18 or older, and live or work within 5-8 minutes of a fire station.
• You'll need enthusiasm, willingness to work in a team environment and a desire to support your local community.
• We need you to get employer consent for on-call during your working hours but not if you are responding during out of work hours. 

What you'll receive

• Retaining fee - all incidents and call outs are paid at a hourly rate. 

To find out more about becoming an on-call firefighter please visit our Being an on-call firefighter - SFRS

Becoming a Wholetime Firefighter

A firefighter’s role can involve a range of challenging situations and, to help you decide whether this is the job is for you, we have prepared a pre-application checklist for you to complete.

Are you:

• trustworthy and reliable?
• able to understand and respect diversity and adopt a fair and ethical approach to others?
• open to change and actively seek to support it?
• an effective communicator (both verbally and in writing)?
• willing to work scheduled shifts including nights, weekends and public holidays?
• able to drive or, work towards a full driving licence?
• able to understand, retain, apply and adapt relevant information in an organised, safe and systematic way?
• able to work effectively with others, both within the fire and rescue service and the community?
• able to maintain an active awareness of the environment to promote safe and effective working?
• committed to work and able to develop yourself and others?
• able to adopt a conscientious and proactive approach to work to achieve excellent standards?
• able to maintain a confident and resilient attitude in highly challenging situations?

When you are appointed to the role of whole time firefighter, you will attend a specially-equipped training centre, you will be taught basic firefighting skills, ladder safety, hose laying and the use of breathing apparatus.

It takes about three months to complete the basic whole-time training course at a specially-equipped training centre.

Probation period: You'll be on probation for your first year and in development until you demonstrate to your manager that you have achieved the correct level of knowledge, skills and performance in your role as a firefighter.

For further information follow the link to being a wholetime firefighter

For our current vacancies, please follow the link to our jobs page (via Suffolk County Council Careers)

Becoming a Community Fire Volunteer

We're looking for enthusiastic and caring people who want to make a difference to their community and improve lives through sharing fire safety advice.

What's involved?

Our volunteers attend community events and fairs and give talks to community groups about fire safety or educate young people at Crucial Crew events or at schools by delivering the Spark programme.

To find out more about becoming a volunteer please visit our volunteer page.