Careers

We’re extremely proud of our staff – they’re our finest asset. Our firefighters make up the majority of our workforce, but we offer a wide range of other careers within our organisation.

From Fire Control operators and water hydrant technicians to graphic designers or ICT staff, you might be surprised at how many different opportunities there are!

West Midlands Fire Service’s recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. All staff and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.

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Become a firefighter

Although responding to emergencies is what firefighters are known for, they spend a lot of time carrying out other activities including prevention and education, training and development, and working within the community.

To become a West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) firefighter you must:

  • be at least 18 years old at the time you apply
  • live in the area covered by WMFS (please note that postcode and proof of address will be required)
  • be physically fit to meet the requirements of the role.
Find out more about being a firefighter
Trainee Firefighter holding a hose spraying water
Member of our warehouse and distribution team checking a package

Other vacancies

Staff, other than firefighters or fire control, are in many varied roles from ICT, workshops and vehicle maintenance, cleaners and catering staff, to finance, communications, surveyors, administration and more – they play a vital role in making the West Midlands safer, stronger and healthier.

We couldn’t do what we do without them.

Our job vacancies are hosted on our external jobs board, managed by our Oracle system. After applying via this system, all communication around the role tyou've applied for will be via Oracle. To make sure don't miss any important notifications, please check your spam or junk folder for any job emails or notices from us after applying.

Click the button below to visit it and see our available vacancies!

Check out our vacancies

Join Fire Control

Our fire control staff take emergency calls, diffuse stressful situations, mobilise resources and equipment, and manage our vehicles and officers.

They liaise with firefighters who are at the scenes of emergencies, record important details on our computerised incident logs, and work closely with the public and businesses on protection and prevention work.

Fire Control is the front line for those experiencing an emergency and is critical to our service.

To become a West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) Fire Control Operator you must:

  • be at least 18 years old at the time you apply
  • have excellent keyboard skills (applicants will be tested for speed, accuracy and literacy)
  • have experience working in high-pressure, customer service environments
  • be able to evidence the use of multi-functioning computer systems
  • be a confident individual with excellent decision-making skills
  • have excellent communication skills
  • be able to work in a highly procedural and ordered working environment.
Find out more about being a fire control operator
Fire Control staff member working at screens in the control room
A safeside volunteer working with some children on fire safety

Become a volunteer with us

We have a number of volunteering opportunities – in photography, in our communities and at our Safeside educational centres, to list just a few. Due to high demand, not all opportunities are always available, but please check out volunteers page for more information.

Requirements

Our volunteer roles have different age requirements:

  • to be a volunteer photographer you must be over 18
  • to be a Prevention Advocate you must be over 18 years old, although you can do the guiding activity at Safeside from 16 years old.
Find out more about becoming a volunteer

Equality and Diversity at West Midlands Fire Service

We recognise that many people experience inequality in society and the workplace. Therefore, we try to lead by example, taking individual and organisational steps to challenge prejudice and remove discrimination, and actively promoting a working environment that is conducive to good working relationships and which will ultimately benefit the communities we serve.

West Midlands Fire Service will not discriminate on any grounds that cannot be justified, including disability, marital status, gender or gender reassignment, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, maternity/paternity, race or trade union membership.

We will also ensure that appropriate resources and training will be allocated to ensure that managers and staff are aware of their professional and personal responsibilities to each other and to the public they serve.

Our commitment to the ‘Public Sector Duties’ under the Equality Act 2010 and our own Core Values underpin all decisions we take and all actions of our employees in all areas of work including recruitment, employment and service delivery.

All employees are bound by our Core Values, Code of Conduct and Dignity at Work policy.

We encourage employees to recognise that equality is not about treating everybody the same, but recognising we are all individuals and unique in our own way. Equality and fairness is about recognising, accepting and valuing people’s unique individuality according to their needs. This often means that individuals may be treated differently, yet fairly, based on their needs.

For our full diversity policy and details on how we use positive action in our service, see our documents section for details.

Trainee Firefighters stood in a line with a female firefighter in focus
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