A single mum who is now protecting her community as a firefighter is encouraging more people to join the Fire Service.
Sam Barnes first applied to become an on-call firefighter at Carnforth Fire Station back in June 2023.
According to the station, she was able to offer 'crucial' daytime cover while at work during school hours.
Sam said: "I wanted a new challenge to give back to the community and meet new people, and the Fire Service offered me all of that.
"I now feel I have an extended family. Physically and mentally, I have pushed myself harder than ever."
For Sam, her favourite part since joining has been learning to drive the appliance and responding on blue lights.
Carnforth is one of six stations in north Lancashire looking for more on-call firefighters, alongside Lancaster, Morecambe, Bolton le Sands, Silverdale, and Hornby.
"I would recommend anyone looking for more job satisfaction to enquire," Sam added.
"The service, especially the crew at Carnforth, has supported my journey to competent firefighter amazingly."
On-call firefighters often have another job and will provide cover from home or their place of work.
A spokesperson from Lancashire Fire and Rescue commented: "They respond to emergencies when their pager alerts them, so must live or work within five minutes travel time from the station.
"We generally require on-call firefighters to give between 60 to 120 hours per week - patterns and hours of cover vary from station to station but our biggest requirement is for daytime cover Monday to Friday and 24 hours across Saturday and Sunday."
Those thinking of submitting an application are encouraged to first contact the On Call Support Officer to discuss suitable hours of cover and their distance to the desired station.
For north Lancashire, this is Harry Agar who can be contacted via harryagar@lancsfirerescue.org.uk or on 07789 004815.
Further information about the recruitment drive can be found at www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk.
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