FIREFIGHTING may not be the obvious career for a single mum of two young boys, but one Birchwood firefighter has found it is the perfect job and her sons want everyone to know that their mum is ‘Fireman Sam’.

Victoria Griffiths, 31, joined Birchwood Fire Station as an on-call firefighter in January and even though she had never thought of a career in the fire service before, she said she loves the job.

And Victoria’s sons, nine-year-old Luke and three-year-old Noah, cannot get enough of visiting the station to ride in the fire engines.

Victoria said: “It’s not really something that I always thought I wanted to do because when you are younger it seems like a man’s job. 

“But somebody shared a Cheshire Fire recruitment post on Facebook and I thought ‘I wonder if I could do that?’

“I thought that I would struggle, I’m the only female firefighter and I’m only 5’3, but I really enjoy it.”

Victoria said that after the first day of training, budding firefighters will know if it is the right career for them.

“In the training, you just sort of do it and afterwards you can’t believe what you have done it and you’re really proud of yourself.

“Women have asked me, ‘how can you do that?’ and I tell them it’s not as daunting as you think and you don’t have to be majorly fit, it’s more important to be a team player and trust other people.”

And Victoria has found that being an on call firefighter, which means you will be called out from home to respond to emergencies a few times a week, allows her to spend more time with her children.

She said: “I can’t describe how great it is. I’m a single mum and if I had a normal job my son would be in nursery 50 hours a week. This way I can be a full time mum and work too.

“Luke was a bit unsure about me being a firefighter, I don’t think he really believed it until he saw the video of me doing a ladder climb for charity and then he said ‘that is so cool!’

“My youngest son will tell anyone who will listen, ‘my mum’s Fireman Sam!’

“I get to spend more time with my children than most working mums do.

Hopefully people will get past the idea that it’s a man’s job and give it a go.”

Victoria said that the firefighters she works with are supportive and her watch manager enjoys showing Noah around the fire engine and letting him pretend he is driving it.

She said most weeks she gets called out three to five times and sometimes find herself waiting for the call.

“So far I have been to quite a few automatic fire alarms at businesses and I’ve been called out to a prison twice but I was also helping at the Daresbury Hall fire,” she said.

“That was exciting because I got to try out the hydraulic platforms.

“I wish I would have become a firefighter years ago, I absolutely love it. I can’t wait to get into the station.”