Buckingham’s student fire-fighter

Outside of studying, many University of Buckingham students spend their leisure time relaxing, but James Ridley-Jones has decided to spend his Thursday evenings training to put out fires.

James, who is studying for a degree in International Studies, is a trainee for the Buckingham Fire Station’s On-Call Crew, working towards becoming a fully trained fire-fighter. James started his application last summer and hopes to complete his training next month.

The On-Call Crew each have pagers on which they receive their notifications; the crew are expected to be at the fire station within 5 minutes of receiving a message, even if they are at home or at work. James said: “I have had to hurry out of doors in the middle of the night, or just leave my shopping in the supermarket on occasions.

“The worst time was when I was in the Swan Pool and heard the beeper going off – then I had to sprint out in my trunks, pulling my clothes on as I went.

“I don’t have a car either, so I have to sprint to the station each time, but fortunately I live in town.”

Buckingham Fire Station covers the north-western part of the county, which borders with Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. While James is able to attend incidents, he will need to be fully-qualified before he can participate in extinguishing fires.

“It’s a good job”, says James, “I’d encourage anyone who thinks they might be interested in becoming a fire-fighter to talk to me or one of the on-call crew, it’s incredibly worthwhile.”