- Careers
- Apprentice Firefighter
As a Cheshire firefighter, every day is different and incidents are only a small part of what you will do. In fact, just five per cent of a firefighter’s time is spent responding to emergencies. The rest is spent out in the community: preventing fires, delivering safety campaigns, and helping children and young people thrive through programmes like The King’s Trust and Fire Cadets.
If you’re driven by purpose and want to make a real difference across Cheshire, this is the role for you. Our firefighters come from all backgrounds and experiences, working in a culture that is safe, supportive, positive and welcoming. We’re one of the country’s most highly regarded fire and rescue services for both our community work and how we look after our staff.
Joining us is the start of a rewarding, meaningful career. One where you gain nationally recognised qualifications, develop specialist skills, and make a lasting impact on the communities you serve.
Once you’re competent, you’ll earn over £38,800 within two years, starting on a salary of £30,384, with clear opportunities to develop your career, specialise, and progress into leadership roles.
Become a firefighter with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and discover a career that’s truly more than you expect.
You need at least one GCSE (or equivalent) in EITHER Maths or English at grade C/4 or above. If you don’t have both, don’t worry, you can still apply. If you are successful with your application, you will complete the one you are missing during your firefighter apprenticeship, with full support from our training provider.
You must hold a UK driving licence with no more than 3 points at the time of application.
You must be at least 18 years old by the start of the course.
You need to be able to swim 50 metres by the start of the course.
Monday 1 June
Applications open
Submit your application before midday on Monday 15 June.
Thursday 18 June
Online assessments
Complete tests by midday on Thursday 2 July
Monday 20 to Tuesday 28 July
Practical assessment
Taking place at HQ in Winsford
Monday 7 to Friday 11 September
Interview
Interviews will take place at our Headquarters in Winsford
September 2026 - October 2026
Pre-employment checks
You will undergo a medical assessment and an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (criminal records) check
Course will start in January 2027
Visit the recruitment process page for more information.
Right from the very start, we are with you every step of the way.
A key element of our positive action work is our unique Buddying Scheme that provides advice and support for anyone who is interested in becoming a firefighter, regardless of their background.
The Buddying scheme is there to provide information, guidance and encouragement to candidates who may need extra support or perceive there to be barriers to employment within the Fire and Rescue Service or may have gone through the process previously and been unsuccessful, helping to level the playing field for all candidates and improve diversity in recruitment outcomes. Where demand for buddies exceeds the number of available staff, we will prioritise the provision of buddies to those with more specific needs, and candidates from groups which are currently under-represented within our workforce.
The buddy is there to provide:
A friendly face and point of contact
Guidance and support
Informal opportunity for questions, a platform to ask what might feel like a silly question
Encouragement
Signposting to CFRS online resources
If you are interested in being assigned a ‘Buddy’, then please send us your name, email address and home address via email to buddying@cheshirefire.gov.uk
Just let us know if you have a preference for a Buddy from a particular gender.
Many people might consider firefighting as a stereotypically male profession. However, we now employ more female firefighters than ever before, as well as people from a diverse range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). The diversity of our workforce is one of things that makes Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service so special. We want to represent the rich diversity of the communities we serve, so that we can better understand the risks they face and the service they require from us.
No one is given any unfair advantage during the recruitment process, and we assess everyone on merit and their ability to do their job. However, if you feel you genuinely need an adjustment to the recruitment process then please email recruitment@cheshirefire.gov.uk for advice.
You may have heard the term 'positive action' before and wonder what it means.
Positive action is a legal, acceptable and deliberate way of targeting people from underrepresented groups with the view of encouraging and increasing the number of applications for employment. However, once in our recruitment process all applicants are assessed based on their individual merit and ability to do their job.
Underrepresented groups mean different things to different organisations, but for us, we wish to widen access for people from minority ethnic communities, groups and backgrounds, people that identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) and women.
Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations can attempt to address imbalances of groups that they can evidence are under-represented within the workforce and this will enable us to ensure our workforce will always be able to meet the diverse needs of the community we serve.
