London to Cheshire

[Andy276]

Hi Everyone, Just looking for some insight and advice.

I am currently serving in LFB, and due to a growing family now looking at transferring/ moving to Cheshire FRS. 

I am originally from Cheshire, having lived in London for 8 years. I love the job, not so much the house prices and access to family (All up north) for the kids!

Has anyone done this move or similar? I am painfully aware, once you leave London it is hard to go back, and I’m also aware the job may be very different (types of incident, frequency, day to day routine, shift patterns etc), but it would be great to hear people’s personal experiences.

 

keep up the good work and keep safe!

[Luminoki]

@Jet for one may be able to relay experience. I havent had to do it thankfully but i wouldnt limit yourself to just cheshire, look at surrounding services, even if it gets you just that little bit closer to home. Also Cheshire operate a day crewing system at three of their stations so thats something to consider

[Andy276]

@Luminoki thanks for the reply. Yes definitely staying open minded to surround services, this is a current vacancy so could happen soonish. Yeah it does seem like there’s a lot of day crewing/ retained cover, is that something which is becoming more common place?

Edited October 15, 2020 by Carl
Quote removed as its a direct quote of the post above. Please see FAQ.

[StandPipe]

@Andy276

I’m at a Northern brigade who mainly operate 2,2,4 however there are some day crewed stations and they have to provide retained cover at night, so technically they are at work for 96 hours straight (4x 11 hour days shifts as positive hours and the rest as on call).

What lads/lasses who have transferred from London have noticed is that they actually were at home more often than they are now. An example of this, a lad I know was in the LFB, drove down on his first day shift, came home on swing shift, back for nights, then home for 4 days. He’s transferred upto my brigade and is based at a day crewed station 10 minutes from his house. The on call requirement is 5 minutes, so he has to stay in brigade provided accommodation. Yes his family can visit but it just means he is 10 minutes from home, however he spends less time at home than he did in London. Yes he gets ‘x’% for doing the on call bit, but I’m unsure if it’s as much as London’s weighting allowance?

This is just an example and I’m sure if you got a 2,2,4 station 10 minutes from your house you’d be chuffed 👍

[Andy276]

@StandPipeThat’s really helpful thank you. Sounds like a different challenge in itself if you’re not within 5 mins of the station, but I suppose depending on the pay it could be a good way of doing nights from the comfort of your own bed! Is that 96 hour turn followed by 4 days off out of interest?

[StandPipe]

@Andy276yes it’s 4 on 4 off, however as the days are only 11 hour days, it’s means they are only working 44 positive hours every 8 days (as a pose to 2,2,4 who work 48 hours over 8 days equating to 42 hours a week), this means that every third tour they have to do an extra day to make up the hours, so realistically the shift is 4 on, 4 off, 4 on, 4 off, 5 on, 3 off, back to the start.

[Matt]

I see people from all over wanting to join LFB, even from opposite ends of the country, is it just a thing to say I've been LFB?  Personally I'd of thought you'd be better of anywhere else, more range of jobs, less travelling, cheaper, what are the benefits to joining LFB than any other authority?

Plenty of opportunities in the North West, 10 of 11 Brigades near enough on your doorstep up there, quite a few airports, industrials.

[Andy276]

@Matt just to clarify I am currently with LFB and still live in the south. The move north would be more family motivated than anything else, but obviously work is a big part of our lives so I wouldn’t want to transfer and not enjoy it if that makes sense?

[LFB392]

I know of quite a few people who have left the LFB for other brigades and massively regretted it, some transferring straight back at the expense of a long commute. Beds, Bucks and West Mids, the latter in particular, have had awful reviews from ex LFB personnel about working practices, day to day routines and work place atmospheres. 

[Luminoki]

I think that also comes from the fact that transferrees, especially ones with skills such as driving will go to the hard to fill stations, when in fact they hope to get the “10 minute drive from home” station

As for workplace atmospheres, its the fire service, it varies from station to station. Ive met the LFB lad, proper sound guy, he got a unique station but over time it always changes

[Dyson]

Hello Andy, I joined LFB as a a recruit when I was a kid, transferred out and now after a number of years I’ve come back. Happy to answer any questions you might have 😊. 

[Andy276]

Thanks everyone for the replies. @Dyson thanks for the offer, what made you come back to LFB out of interest?

[03RPW-6715]

Hi @Andy276 I've just transferred out of Cheshire and worked on the Day Crewing system there. Happy to answer any questions 👍

[Dyson]

@Andy276well it was a very personal thing for me. I had a great time out in the counties, met some truly wonderful people, and wouldn’t change a thing about my journey. I always kinda intended or loosely thought I would come back, but opportunities in my rank never came up. Now they do. LFB isn’t perfect, I don’t need to tell you that, far, far from it! 😂 However there is something special about it, and at the end of the day I want to be and identify as a London firefighter. 

[Fozzie73]

Hi Andy I’m currently serving in Cheshire on a day crewing system and looking to get back home to LFB more than happy to chat and let you know how things Are this end mate 

[Luminoki]

I dont know your circumstances but Merseyside are currently looking for CC’s/WCs and its open to firefighters wishing to make the jump to promotion

[Andy276]

@Luminokithanks for the heads up, just having a look now 👍🏼

[Fozzie73]

What’s the London weighting allowance at the moment in LFB

[Andy276]

@Fozzie73 It's been integrated into our annual salary now, but I believe its around £5k