Frequently asked questions

Safe and Well checks are completed by on-duty firefighters. They may arrive in a fire engine or other fire service vehicle.

Please be aware: Our crews may need to leave suddenly during your appointment if they have to attend an emergency. We apologise if this does happen, but if it does, we’ll rearrange your visit.

All WMFS staff will be in uniform and carry identification, which they will show before entering your home.

If you prefer, you can provide a password to our Bookings Team for added security. Call us on 0800 389 5525 to arrange this.

Our intention is to get calculations to those leaving service as soon as possible, but due to high workloads and the complexity of calculations as a result of Remedy, we are sometimes not able to do so.

We are statutorily required to provide pension calculations within one month of retirement for those retiring at pension age, or two months if you choose to retire early, although we will always seek to do so sooner.

If a delay in payment is likely to cause you hardship, please contact the pensions team, as we can arrange an advance payment be made from your pension lump sum.

We seek to represent the communities we serve in the makeup of our organisation, and by employing people from our communities we enhance our knowledge of our local communities.

Recruiting locally also contributes to the economic growth of the West Midlands, by providing local jobs for local people.

We accept applications from any West Midlands resident, provided they meet the criteria outlined on our Become a firefighter page.

We also accept applications from those in the armed forces, provided that, if successful, they will reside in the West Midlands when their employment with us begins.

The decision to communicate to everyone who might be eligible based on broad criteria was deliberate. That does mean some people who have received this communication will not be eligible or may not be interested in applying. However, we decided that communicating more widely was preferable to the risk of missing lots of individuals. The alternative would have been to check every individual’s specific circumstance in advance to narrow down the list, but this would have significantly delayed our starting the process and would still have required individuals to apply and provide evidence for the reasons outlined above.

We always aim to start pension payments as soon as possible after you retire. However, when we are extremely busy, or your case is particularly complex, it may not be possible to provide your figures in advance of we may make your first payment sometime after you retire, once you have decided on your pension options.

Although second-life batteries, particularly those used in vehicles and energy-storage applications, can be relatively easy to obtain there are concerns that they may not be appropriate for use, particularly where not installed by a competent electrician.

Not necessarily.

If you have a conviction, then a panel will consider the nature of the conviction, its relevance to the role of a firefighter, the sentence, any pattern of offending and the length of time since the offence.

You will be informed if a panel is to be convened and will have the opportunity to provide additional information in a supporting statement.

An assessment will then be carried out to identify the risks to us as an organisation, our business, customers, clients and employees.

The panel will decide if your application can proceed, and this is usually at an early stage in the recruitment process.

A DBS is required to be completed before a contract will be issued. It is your responsibility to inform us if you receive any convictions during the process.

No – this is a popular misconception because there used to be restrictions on height, weight and chest expansion.

Candidates are expected to pass strength and fitness tests as part of the recruitment process.

The tests are at a level that’s achievable by men and women of all different sizes and builds.