Retained firefighter

A retained firefighter, also known as a Firefighter working the Retained Duty System (RDS), RDS Firefighter or on-call firefighter, in the United Kingdom and Ireland firefighter who may have full-time employment outside of the fire service but responds to emergency calls within their local area as and when required.

When required to answer an emergency call, retained firefighters are summoned to the fire station by a radio pager (also known as a "alerter"). Once at the station, the crews staff the fire engine and proceed to the incident. Retained firefighters are therefore required to live or work near to the fire station they serve. This allows them to respond to emergencies within acceptable and strict attendance time targets set out by each fire service.

Retained firefighters are employed and trained by the applicable local authority fire and rescue service covering the particular county or area in which they serve.

Typically, retained firefighters are employed in rural areas or in large villages or small towns. They provide cover to 90% of the area of the UK - there are 14,000 in England and Wales. Of the approximately 8,500 operational firefighters in Scotland, about 32% are retained.London Fire Brigade, West Midlands Fire Service and Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service are the only three fire and rescue services in the British Islands that do not have any retained firefighters.

Unlike volunteer firefighters, retained firefighters receive an annual "retainer fee" and are paid on a "per emergency call" basis. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the Retained Firefighters' Union (RFU) represent the interests of retained firefighters across the country.

Retained firefighters were traditionally called "part-time firefighters". However this term is now widely acknowledged as inaccurate as most retained staff are not allowed to provide any less than 70 hours a week 'on call'.

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