Vicky applied to be a Wholetime Firefighter when she was nineteen years old and just missed out, so decided to go down a completely different career route and became a bricklayer. She undertook a three-year apprenticeship and became the first female bricklayer in the area. Twenty four years later Vicky is now a manager at the same housing company.
When the new Fire Station opened at Wyre Forest in 2020, Vicky was delighted to be able to apply for an On-Call firefighter position, as her office is directly opposite the Fire Station. Vicky is her company’s Fire Marshall, testing fire alarms and checking fire doors, bringing skills from the Fire and Rescue Service to the business.
“It’s always been there at the back of my mind throughout my career, but I couldn’t do anything about it until we got this lovely new station, as I don’t live within five minutes. I would spend every waking hour here if I could.”
Vicky loves working within the team at the station, everyone with such different backgrounds, regularly being pushed out of her comfort zone.
“When that alerter goes off I have no idea what I’m going into and that is very exciting, there’s nothing like it. It’s so different to my day job, working in an office. It’s the whole package.”
Vicky played football for twenty three years, including for Kidderminster Harriers. She’s now the league secretary, working on fixtures, and in any spare time is renovating her home!
If Vicky was asked why you should consider being an On-Call firefighter she would say, “It’s the best thing you’ll ever do. You’ll meet new people and be part of an amazing team that makes a difference every day.”
