Colchester is a wholetime fire station, which means firefighters are based at the station 24/7.

A typical day for a wholetime firefighter may involve attending fire incidents. As well as working alongside other emergency services and dealing with many types of emergencies; road, rail or air crashes, floods, chemical spills or rescuing people and animals trapped in other circumstances.

There’s also daily and weekly checks to do on equipment while they're at the station. In addition to visiting homes around Colchester and sharing fire prevention advice with schools and businesses. 

The crew work a 42 hour week which includes shifts to cover a 24 hour service. A typical shift pattern is 2 day shifts, 2 night shifts and 4 days off-duty.