Emergancy services

[kitten_uk2]

After a large fire in our town, it got me thinking as you do... probably stupid question but i have these thoughts occasionally bout stupid stuff
how does a firemans shift work. the fire in our town started at 1.30pm and was put out at 2.30am, so when does a firemans shift finish, can they put down there hose at 3pm cos its knock off time, or do they have to stay till the fire is out. do they get paid extra?
and the ambulance crew do they have a knock off time?

[Kaz081992]

I suspect it's like the police force, you have knock off times and shift changes etc but if you're in the middle of a job you can't leave until it's either finished or safe to hand over to the next crew. In those circumstances, overtime is normally given either in pay or time off in lieu.

[sense4all]

As above . My Dad's station had four watches, they took in turns to do days, nights and late turns. 6 in the morn til 2 in afternoon , 2 til ten at night, 10 til six and one shift on changeover day ( not working ) There was an exception that if the appliance was 'dry' and had to return to base to recharge, changeover could occur then ( it would have to be a mega event for that to happen) he was based at an airport. They stayed til they were told to stand down from emergency.

[dan_999uk]

From an ambulance perspective - you can be given an emergency call right up until the end of your shift - these are called late jobs. You are paid at time and a half for any extra time past your end of shift. The longest I've worked past my shift end was 4 hours. A few months back a night crew at my station worked from 8pm until 11am the following day - not good!

Woe betide you if you call us out late for something trivial!