IF YOU have ever wondered what life is like as a firefighter, now is the chance to find out as Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service looks to recruit more firefighters.

And the service is hoping to tempt more women into the role as on call firefighters can work flexible hours.

Watch managers Lloyd Blower and Graham Thomas invited me to the fire service’s training facilities at their headquarters in Winsford to show me the ropes.

After changing into the kit, which Lloyd said can add up to a stone in weight to firefighters involved in incidents, it was time to face the first challenge.

Budding firefighters first test is crawling through a maze made of wire fencing called ‘the cage’ in full uniform and helmet.

The cage is supposed to test if a new recruit is claustrophobic and it is more challenging than it looks when you are wearing heavy boots, a breathing mask and an eye mask to obscure your vision.

Graham tells me that one of the most important things firefighters do when entering burning buildings is to check if the ground in front of them is safe or if it is likely to collapse.

He said keeping calm and thinking clearly can be the difference between life and death in some extreme situations.

After navigating my way through the cage it was time to face a four-storey ladder climb.

I assumed you cannot be a firefighter if you are afraid of heights, but Graham and Lloyd said that many people are nervous about climbing to the top of the ladder when they start their training but become confident after lots of practice.

I hate heights and even though I was strapped into a harness, it was tricky to climb the rungs in heavy firefighter’s boots.

Training might be a challenge, both physically and mentally, but Graham said most recruits feel incredibly proud of themselves after they have mastered a test that made them nervous before.

He said: “The best part of it is the training and helping people in your own community. It’s all about being a team, we have no one working alone.

“The fire service is no different for women – you do all the same training and you are part of the team. Everyone looks after each other.”

It can take up to three years to train as a firefighter but after basic training, new recruits are posted to a station to start responding to calls with the team.

A firefighter’s rank is indicated by the number of stripes and the colour of their helmet – a newly qualified firefighter wears a yellow helmet with a black dot but a watch manager will graduate to a white helmet with a thin black band.

When firefighters are not responding to incidents, they take part in continuous training exercises.

Senior firefighters invent scenarios and the crew must respond to the call.

Lloyd said that sometimes these scenarios seem far-fetched but he once responded to an incident where a car had caught fire in the lion enclosure of a safari park, so the creative situations are helpful.

The fire service is also frequently called out to rescue people from vehicles after road collisions and trainee firefighters practice cutting the roofs off all types of car.

In a small parking lot, a pile of scrap cars wait to be dissected by the new recruits and Graham explains that the service needs more modern cars to practice on, as it can be harder to rescue passengers from new vehicles.

A firefighter’s work is extremely varied and can range from rescuing animals from rivers to showing schoolchildren how passengers are cut from vehicles after a collision.

For more information about becoming a firefighter, visit cheshirefire.gov.uk/jobs/on-call-firefighter-recruitment.