WHAT do a chocolatier, a butcher and a teaching assistant have in common? Answer: Any of them could prevent your house from burning down if you live in the Bala area.

Last week, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service launched a recruitment campaign for Retained Duty System (RDS) firefighters to help protect communities across the region.

A retained firefighter is a professional member of the fire crew who may have full-time employment outside of the fire service but responds to emergency calls within their local area as and when required.

In Dwyfor and Meirionnydd, the fire service are particularly looking for potential recruits to man fire stations in Dolgellau, Bala, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Porthmadog and Pwllheli.

To give a sense of the average make-up of a retained fire crew, alongside the aforementioned professions, the Bala fire fighting team also includes a night porter, farmer and tree surgeon.

Ruth Simmons, assistant chief fire officer, explained: “RDS firefighters provide essential fire and emergency cover for their fire station’s area.

“We are looking for suitable individuals, in particular those available during the day, who can travel to their local fire station within five minutes of being paged for a call out."

See this week’s Meirionnydd and Arfon/Dwyfor editions for the full story