We are the only UK fire service where all operational staff are full-time. Other brigades use a combination of full and part-time staff and retained firefighters who carry out firefighting duties in addition to their usual employment. To provide a round-the-clock service, we operate a two shift, four-watch system at stations – red, white, blue and green.
The UK fire service has a single tier entry, in which all operational staff start their careers as a firefighter following initial training. However, in London we have just completed our first Graduate Entry Scheme where graduates will be fast-tracked into station manager roles.
Promotion is currently by means of statutory examinations and assessment centres, where individuals can demonstrate their potential to take on greater responsibilities. We recently simplified our operational staff structure, moving from a rank structure to a role-based structure using titles that better reflect the actual job.
Control staff take emergency ‘999’ calls, find out details of incidents, send fire engines and deploy our resources to emergencies. They also use a four-watch system but have a different rank structure.
It's not just firefighters who help make London a safer city. We have a range of non-uniformed and non-operational staff who work behind the scenes to support our front-line services, including for example, IT, Finance, Procurement and Community Safety officers.
Read the profiles of some of our staff.
