Broughton firefighter explains what inspired him to join

Dan Hull has been working at Broughton Fire Station for almost a decade, having previously been a chef.

He is hopeful that the sharing of his experiences will encourage more residents to join the service as they search for new recruits.

Mr Hull said: "I decided to join the fire service as my dad was already a firefighter there.

"When I first started at Broughton Fire Station we were a steady station, getting around 150 call outs a year, which was all to do with the availability of the fire appliance."

Dan has been with the fire service for nearly 10 years (Image: Dan Hull)

He explained that, over recent years, the number of members at the station has steadily dwindled, which has resulted in the call for new firefighters.

"The station was available to be called 99% of the time back then, as there has to be four firefighters, including a driver and an officer in charge, on call for the pump to be turned out," he said.

"At the time, there were three officers in charge, four drivers, and a total crew of 11, and most of the crew lived and worked in and around Broughton, which was an ideal scenario for keeping the appliance available.

"It was like this for many years, but as time went on, a lot of the crew retired and left for personal circumstances." 

Part of being a firefighter revolves around training and education (Image: Dan Hull)

This has now left Broughton with just a crew of six, with three officers in charge, two of which drive, and three firefighters.

Mr Hull himself is also set to leave the fire service soon, leaving the station in even more of a need for people to step forward and to respond to the call.

Mr Hull added: "This means that all it takes is for two of us to be at work outside of the village, and potentially, the appliance is off the run.

"The crew at Broughton are desperate for some fresh faces and are ready to help bring you through the development stages of becoming a firefighter."

Dan talked about how much he had loved his time at Broughton (Image: Dan Hull)

There will be an open evening at Broughton Station on February 27, with further details about recruitment available here.