Stansted fire and rescue service appoints its first female firefighters
Hannah Inggs and Amber Popham have become the first female firefighters to join Stansted airport’s fire and rescue service.
The pair have joined Finn Edwards and Charlie Fry as the first intake of the airport’s new firefighter apprentice scheme.
They will embark on a 22-week training course before joining operational duties from June.
Their training includes eight weeks at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, and 10 weeks on the job training at Stansted. The course concludes with two weeks at the International Fire Training Centre at Teesside Airport, before completing two weeks’ of assessments back at Stansted.
In addition to the specialist airport firefighter course, the recruits will also be trained as community firefighters and will learn how to handle anything from house fires, floods and road traffic collisions to chemical spillages and community fire safety initiatives.
Hannah Inggs from Chelmsford said: "I am really proud to have been selected as one of the apprentices at Stansted Airport. It has given me the opportunity to embark on a career I’ve always wanted to do."
Amber Popham, who lives in Rochford, said: "I’m extremely proud to be on the scheme and can’t wait for the experiences and opportunities that it’ll give me in the future."
Head of the airport’s Fire and Rescue Service, Alex Adams, said: "London Stansted’s new firefighter apprenticeship scheme will allow us to provide a route into the service for young people from a variety of backgrounds to develop as firefighters where they may not have always considered the fire service as a career before.
"The scheme also offers young people the chance to begin their career on a structured and supported programme as an alternative to going to university and is in addition to our proud track record in recruiting apprentices at the airport, particularly within our engineering and customer service teams."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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