An exciting job where you never know what’s going to happen”

After more than 20 years as a parttime firefighter, there’s no doubt Peter Carlsson, who works in goods sending and receiving at Proton Finishing in Hillerstorp, is passionate about what he does. For the past nine years, he has also been crew commander, which means he is the first person on the scene of a fire or accident.

I’m on call every fourth week, from one Sunday night to the next. On call weeks I take my First Incident Responder vehicle to work, because in the event of a fire or accident, I have to be on the scene as quickly as possible. That means I’m usually at the scene 4–5 minutes before the engine truck and tanker. “It happens occasionally that I’m on call some week and there are no turn-outs at all, but we average about 3–4 turn-outs a week,” Peter says.

What made you become a part-time firefighter?

“It really started when I was in preschool and the fire brigade came to visit our class with their fire engine. I remember how exciting it was and I think I was already inspired right then. About the same time, I watched a programme called “Emergency” on TV and I knew that was what I wanted to do when I grew up.

There are certain requirements if you want to be a part-time firefighter, Peter tells us. You have to pass two fitness tests a year, a medical exam every year and it can’t take you more than 5–6 minutes to get to the station. Every fourth week, when you are on call, you also have special exercises. Peter says his next exercise will be carried out with the ambulance.

“Many people think we only go to fires, but we go on heart attacks, drownings, automatic alarms and traffic accidents, of course.”

Is there any particular event that stands out in your mind?

“The big forest fires, like the one in Sala a few years ago. The command centre, which included representatives from various government agencies, was 200 people. Plus, there were 180 firefighters from all over Sweden taking turns firefighting in the forest. We worked six hours, then had showers and slept, then back to firefighting for another six hours. We went on like that for days. It was rough, but a real learning experience.

And I think that’s what I really like about this, because you never know what’s going to happen, so it’s always interesting and exciting!”

The municipalities of Gislaved and Gnosjö have joint fire and rescue services with seven stations: Gislaved, Gnosjö, Reftele, Smålandsstenar, Burseryd, Hestra and Hillerstorp.

Jonas Björkström is the personnel coordinator for Gislaved/Gnosjö fire and rescue and also serves as response commander. Being personnel coordinator means keeping all seven outer stations manned with a total of about 150 people.

Why is it important that Peter and others serve as part-time firefighters?

“We have a very large area to cover, so the outer stations are extremely important. Both full-time and parttime personnel are vital, but the part-timers are the core, because our strength is in our flexibility.

“The fact that companies make their staff available is extremely valu- able and these companies are taking a great deal of social responsibility. If they didn’t do this, our operations wouldn’t work, and it’s really quite remarkable that they can let their staff depart with six minute’s notice. The dialogue between the businesses and fire and rescue services is important here, so the businesses understand what that means. The first year you start out as a part-time firefighter takes more time for studies and so on, but later on it takes up less of your time.

“The benefit for the businesses is that they have medically trained personnel who also have extensive experience and skills in things like fire safety.”

Right now fire and rescue needs more part-time firefighters in Hillerstorp, and they’d like to see more female applicants. There is a clear increase in the number of women who apply, and Gislaved/Gnosjö is in a good position statistically, but they still have a ways to go.

“If you’re interested, you are more than welcome to visit one of our stations and ask any questions you have,” Jonas says in conclusion.