This collaborative project interviews on-call firefighters across England. It investigates why they joined the service, their experiences in role, reasons for leaving, the transition process, and suggestions to enhance the sustainability of the duty system.
Most uniformed public services in the UK rely on part-time, voluntary, or dual-employed staff.
The Military consists of 17.7% reservists (MOD, 2025), the Police includes 7.3% voluntary roles (Home Office, 2022), and the NHS has over 12,000 volunteer community first responders (Siriwardena et al, 2024). The Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) similarly depends on on-call (retained) firefighters, covering over 90% of the UK (Re-Kindle, 2024a).
These paid professionals respond to emergencies while balancing other employment, studies, or responsibilities (NFCC, 2025).
Over half (53%) of England’s fire stations operate solely with on-call firefighters, representing a growing trend (Re-Kindle, 2024a). The proportion of on-call firefighters is 26% in England (Home Office, 2024a), 44.7% in Scotland (Scottish Fire and Rescue, 2024), 51.4% in Northern Ireland (NIFRS, 2024), and 53.7% in Wales (Stats Wales, 2024).
Despite their vital contribution (Re-Kindle, 2024a), 80% of FRSs report recruitment issues with on-call firefighters, and 68% face retention challenges (LGA, 2014). Resignation rates are 46% higher than for wholetime firefighters (Home Office, 2024a), with an average tenure 10.7 years shorter (Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, 2019). Consequently, from 2014–2024, on-call firefighter numbers in England declined by 26% (Home Office, 2024a), and 56.8% of FRSs consider the system unsustainable (HMICFRS, 2023b), leading to a loss of diverse operational staff (HMICFRS, 2023a).
Retention issues stem from economic, political, and societal factors (Re-Kindle, 2024a). While staff turnover introduces fresh ideas into organisations (CIPD, 2024), it also depletes knowledge, skills, and experience, impacting operational capability (CIPD, 2024; Re-Kindle, 2024b). Recruitment and training to offset losses incur significant costs (CIPD, 2024; Re-Kindle, 2024a). The on-call model remains cost-effective—about 90% cheaper than wholetime cover (Knight, 2015)—and is crucial for maintaining UK fire services amid financial constraints (HMICFRS, 2020).
Despite the importance of this national provision, UK research on on-call firefighters' experiences is scarce. Since the on-call emergency response system is widely used abroad, most empirical studies focus on international contexts.
Over the past decade, no UK studies have examined the interconnection of why on-call firefighters join, their operational experiences, engagement levels, reasons for leaving, transition support, and post-service trajectories. This presents a significant knowledge gap affecting thousands (Home Office, 2024a).
Firefighters face unique occupational stressors (Hill et al., 2023), which may require tailored post-service support. The intersectionality of certain personal characteristics may further compound this challenge but remains unexplored.
This qualitative study aims to explore the lived experiences of on-call firefighters in England.
Primarily virtual interviews (n=20) will be conducted with those considering or having left their on-call role or the FRS. The Fire Fighters Charity will assist with national recruitment using opportunistic and snowball sampling. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis will capture lived experiences, emotions, and subjective meaning. The studies objectives include:
Help us to generate new knowledge about an under-researched topic, so insights can be used across the fire and rescue sector.
We'd like to hear from on-call firefighters in England who are considering leaving, or have already left, the role or service.
You'll take part in an individual online interview, which will last for around 60-90 minutes.
If you can't join online, we can arrange a telephone call.
You'll receive a small shopping voucher after your interview is completed, to recognise your contribution.
Your personal data will be stored securely on password-protected devices and in line with data protection regulations.
All personal data will be anonymised.
Email us to express your interest, and book an interview for a convenient date and time. We're happy to tell you more about the project and answer questions.
