Next up in our dream jobs series, we speak to Laura, a control room operator for the fire service.
Staying calm under pressure in this role is essential, but what’s it really like dealing with emergencies day-in-day-out, and could this be the career for you?
Dream job: Emergency control room operator
Skills required: Communication, empathy, teamwork, calm under pressure
£££: Starting salary c£20k, experienced roles £27k+
Meet Laura Sullivan, control room operator for the fire service
Tell us about a typical day in your job
Most shifts are 8-12 hours long and each duty currently consists of two days and a night shift. There are different roles to perform in the control room; call taking, radio or Paging, and we receive around 900 calls a day for various emergencies.
What made you want to get into being a control room operator?
I’d already been working in the education department of the fire service and part of our training was to visit different departments. I’ve never really known what I wanted to do as a job, but when I saw this role in action it just felt like the job for me. I’ve always wanted to be more on the ‘front line’ and I’ve always wanted to help people, which is what this role is all about.
How did you get into being a control room operator?
I applied and I was invited to attend an interview. I had an interview with two members of current staff, a role play and a typing test, which was rather intense! After being accepted, I then had to wait for a training course vacancy. The training course lasts nine weeks and prepares you for all aspects of the job. There is a test at the end of each week plus an assessment before you can move into a final week of practice talking calls with supervision. There are a further few weeks of being supervised by various members of the watch and then a nine-month probation period during which you have to display various competencies, plus assessments to demonstrate your development.
What’s the biggest misconception that people have about being a control room operator?
People think we only take calls about fires (or cats up trees!). There’s far more to the role; the fire service attends various emergencies, from flooding to road traffic collisions. We also have to deal with hoax callers, which can be frustrating. As well as calls from the public, we also have calls from the firefighters at incidents, senior officers requesting information and we have to have people manning our radio channels so crews can send information to the control room and vice versa.
What was your dream job when you were 16?
I never really knew what I wanted to do. I was really interested in Media Studies and thought about going into editing for television.
What courses or training did you do?
After studying film and television at university, I moved on to a PGCE to teach the subject to secondary school students. This eventually helped me get into the education side of the fire service, and then into my current role.
What was your university life like?
Although I enjoyed my time at university, I now know how important it is to really look into the courses that you are interested in and also to think about going to a university that is further away from home if you are able to; it’s key for independence. I also recognise how lucky I am in that although I did a degree in one particular subject, it doesn’t define my working life as I have so far had a very varied one!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a control room officer?
The most important thing about being a control room officer is wanting to help people. When people phone you up, sometimes they are scared and you need to have that willingness and compassion to help them. It’s also important to want to be part of a team as working long shifts with your watch is so central to the role. If it’s something that you want to do, don’t be afraid to just go for it!
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