Retained Fire Fighter

The County Fire Service is organised on a part-time basis. Its purpose is to make reasonable provision for the prompt and efficient extinguishing of fires and for the protection and rescue of persons and property from injury by fire. Membership of the Fire Service is voluntary and members are free to resign from the Service giving adequate notice in accordance with the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 should they wish to do so.

The conditions of service are as follows: - (1) Members must be of good character and the County Council may make whatever enquiries it considers necessary to satisfy this condition. (2) The retirement age is 55 and a retirement gratuity is payable. (3) A firefighter must be physically fit, and possess intelligence and initiative. Before he/she is accepted he/she will be required to pass a medical examination, including x-ray and other tests, at his/her own expense (this may subsequently be recouped on appointment). The Council will not be responsible for any expense involved in having any medical defects discovered at medical examination remedied. He/she will be required to undergo periodic medical examinations in service in accordance with paragraph (14). (4) (a) He/she will be required to be reasonably available for duty at all times, unless prior notification of absence is given to the officer in charge of the Station. Written evidence from the applicant’s employer as to availability must be provided and the Council in its sole discretion shall decide as to whether the evidence is acceptable. Self-employed must also provide written evidence, to cover the candidate’s availability for initial training, and on recruitment, for fire and other calls, drills, training and other duties which the firefighter may be required by the County Council to perform. (b) He/she will be required to attend fire brigade calls when called upon, and to carry out any other duties as ordered by an authorized officer of the Fire Service. (5) Persons appointed shall reside and work within a 1.5 mile radius or within a reasonable distance of their fire station to enable them to function effectively Persons appointed will be required to show documentary evidence of both their work address and the address of their permanent residence prior to being appointed (a letter from your current employer confirming current employment address and recent utility bills, bank statements or tenancy agreement). On receipt of a fire or other emergency call they should be in attendance at the station within five minutes. A change of residence or place of employment that would place him/her outside these limits will mean automatic termination of employment or he/she will resign from the Service. (6) He/she will be required to attend 85% of normal training practices and to have 75% attendance at actual fires and emergency calls in each quarter to qualify for quarterly retainer/availability fee. He/she will be paid a fee of €47.50 per hour for attendance at drills. (7) He/she will be required to attend special courses of training of a longer duration if necessary as detailed by the Chief Fire Officer, within and outside the County. (8) He/she will be paid for attendance at fires at the rate of €47.50 per hour for the first hour or part of, and €23.75 per hour thereafter. (Day fires 8.00 a.m. - 8.00 p.m.). For night fires (8.00 p.m. - 8.00 a.m.) he/she will be paid €95.00 per hour for the first hour or part of, and €47.50 per hour thereafter. Weekend fires are paid for at the same rate as night fires. (9) In addition, a retaining fee will be paid quarterly subject to conditions in force.

Current Retaining Fees per annum are as follows: Part Time Fire Fighter 01/10/2023 On recruitment €11,769 2-4 Years €12,751 5-7 Years €13,963 8+ €15,067 Community Fire Safety A payment will be made reflecting the active role undertaken by firefighters when they attend incidents, in educating community members on the importance of fire safety and identifying the fire risks and the proper precautions that should be taken to protect their homes and their families. The value of this payment will be 40 hours annually, to be made as a fortnightly payment of €36.54. (10) All personnel are covered by an insurance policy in relation to injury at work in the Fire Service. (11) Protective clothing and standard equipment is supplied to each member. (12) Driving Licence: A candidate must, at the date of application, be the holder of a full un-endorsed valid Class ‘B’ Driving Licence. It is a condition that upon signing this Contract that you will successfully obtain a Class ‘C’ driving licence to drive emergency front line appliances prior to the completion of your probationary period, at your own expense. In the event of you not achieving this licence within 12 months from the date of signing your contract, you will be requested to apply for a re-test at your own expense within one month and in the event of you not achieving the licence on the re-test Galway County Council reserves the right to terminate your Contract. It is the responsibility of the fire fighter to notify the Chief Fire Officer in writing without delay of any endorsement or suspension applied to your licence. (13) (a) From the date of commencement as an operational retained firefighter, there shall be a period of one year during which the firefighter shall be on probation. Such period of one year may be extended at the absolute discretion of the County Council. The firefighter shall cease to be a firefighter at the end of the period of probation unless the County Council is satisfied that the firefighter has been satisfactory in all respects (see point b); (b) A firefighter, during his/her probation, will be required to undertake a recruit training course and an Initial Breathing Apparatus Wearers course, or any other course that the Council may consider necessary, and a firefighter who fails to pass the above mentioned courses will cease to be a firefighter at the end of the period of probation. (14) Annual leave must be taken, as per Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and holiday pay will be paid accordingly as per agreed national guidelines from LGMSB in November 2000. An Annual Leave request form is in operation for approval of Annual Leave. (15) He/she will attend medical examinations as per Occupational Health system for retained fire-fighters as issued by LGMSB to Fire Authorities and more frequently if requested by Galway County Council for specialised courses. (16) Where a member becomes incapacitated as a result of serious illness or injury, paid leave shall be provided for twelve weeks on receipt of a Medical Doctor’s report. Paid sick leave may be extended to six months depending on the merits of the case and the applicant’s attendance records. Extended sick leave would generally only be extended to a member on one occasion only. An application of sick leave extension has to be made in writing to the Chief Fire Officer for his approval and sanction.

CITIZENSHIP Candidates must, by the date of any job offer, be: a) A citizen of the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA consists of the Member States of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; or b) A citizen of the United Kingdom (UK); or c) A citizen of Switzerland pursuant to the agreement between the EU and Switzerland on the free movement of persons; or d) A non-EEA citizen who is a spouse or child of an EEA or UK or Swiss citizen and has a stamp 4 visa; or e) A person awarded international protection under the International Protection Act 2015 or any family member entitled to remain in the State as a result of family reunification and has a stamp 4 visa or f) A non-EEA citizen who is a parent of a dependent child who is a citizen of, and resident in, an EEA member state or the UK or Switzerland and has a stamp 4 visa

ATTENDANCE LEVELS In the case of fire drills, the attendance criteria will be 85%. Drills shall be held at such frequency as decided by the County Council in its absolute discretion. A fire-fighter will be required to give 75% response to fire and emergency call-outs in each quarter. Generally the fire fee for the first hour of attendance is double the normal fee. The double rate however, will not be payable where a fire-fighter does not respond within five minutes of the fire call. Where the first fire appliance does not leave the station within five minutes of the fire call, then any fire-fighter who is on the appliance or in the station when it leaves the station may be paid at the higher rate. When a fire fighter does not respond to the station within 15 minutes of alert no payment will be paid for that incident. Where the Chief Fire Officer considers that a fire-fighter is not meeting the required standard of attendance, he will have the right to withhold the retainer as follows: 50% in a first quarter 100% in a second quarter in any twelve months A fire-fighter will receive four weeks notice of intention to withhold the retainer. Any further failure to meet the liability will be dealt with through the Disciplinary procedure. Any firefighter who has a grievance regarding the withholding of the payment can process their grievance through the agreed procedures.