London Fire Brigade (LFB) is calling for people to give up some of their free time and help them run ‘Fire Cadets’, a uniformed youth organisation which benefits hundreds of London teenagers each year.
The Brigade’s Fire Cadets units are run at fire stations by LFB staff and volunteer instructors who collectively give over 300 hours of their time a week. Firefighters, non-operational Brigade staff and adults from communities across London all volunteer their time, skills and experience to help support the fire cadets who can achieve a BTEC qualification and valuable life skills.
The Brigade is always on the lookout for more volunteer instructors to support their 23 Fire Cadets units.
Sara Perez, LFB's Youth Engagement Manager, wants to encourage people from all walks of life to apply. She said: “Don’t let any fears of your lack of experience hold you back if you feel that you can make a positive difference to young people.
“Anyone over 18 can become an instructor and we have all volunteers of all ages, such as retired firefighter Kevin Sivell, who has clocked up over 50 years continuous service to LFB and is passionate about sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience with our Fire Cadets.
“Another example is Johnny McDonald who had never worked with young people before and volunteered originally as something different to do as he wanted to give back to his local community.
“Johnny has grown from strength to strength and is so committed that he took on attending extra units and gained knowledge and experience quickly. Less than a year later, he is running lessons confidently, and taking on the role of lead instructor. Johnny’s passion and commitment has been unfaltering and he has recently applied for a full time employed role as a youth engagement coordinator to run his own three Fire Cadets units from September.”
Initial induction training for volunteers lasts for three days and includes safeguarding, managing challenging behaviour, and BTEC assessment. All volunteers will be required to go through an enhanced DBS clearance and will need to provide references.
More information about becoming a Volunteer Cadet Instructor can be found on the LFB’s website.