HAVE you ever dreamed of becoming a firefighter without ever knowing if it was really possible?

Well now is your chance to find out.

Wholetime recruitment to Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is now open, but only for six days.

Potential candidates have until noon on Sunday to get their applications in.

While DWFRS often recruits for retained firefighters to work on part time crews, this campaign will mark the first opportunity for some time that they have been looking for people to join in full time roles.

In particular, the service is hoping to make its firefighters more reflective of the communities they serve. Women and people from minority ethnic backgrounds have been encouraged to apply and a series of recruitment workshops have been held to break down barriers and allow potential recruits to get a taste of the role.

Applications will be processed via an external website and divided into a number of phases:

Candidate Registration: Candidates register their details.

Realistic Job Preview: Candidates are presented with 11 scenarios to consider.

Eligibility Screen: Candidates must answer basic questions to see whether they meet the following minimum criteria. These include:

Are you over the age of 17 years and 6 months?

Do you have the right to work in the UK?

Have you got any unspent criminal convictions?

Are there any outstanding court judgements against you?

Do you wear glasses or contact lenses?

Once candidates have completed the online registration and eligibility screen, they will receive an e-mail inviting them to log back in to complete an online assessment.

Candidates who are eligible to continue with their application after that assesment will move on to a series of further tests to be completed over the next two months:

The Behavioural Styles Questionnaire (BSQ) will launch on November 14 and candidates will have until November 20 to complete it. The process takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete and is designed to explore your preferred behaviours in a working environment. No revision or additional study is required for this element.

Candidates who successfully pass the BSQ will be invited to complete the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) starting on November 21. They will have until November 27 to complete it. The SJT is not timed but it will take around 30 minutes to complete. It is designed to measure your judgement and decision making skills in situations that are typical in the Fire and Rescue Service. No knowledge or experience as a firefighter is required to complete this test and no prior revision is needed.

If candidates meet the requirements of the BSQ and SJT assessments, they will be invited to complete a series of online ability tests.The testing phase will open on November 28, with the deadline for completion set for December 4. These assessments will be timed.

The ability test stage involves completing a series of assessments covering numerical reasoning, mechanical reasoning and verbal reasoning.

Successful candidates will then go forward to the document checks and fitness testing phase before the in-person part of the process begins.

Those people who are successful in reaching the practical phase of the recruitment campaign will be tested in a number of firefighting-related scenarios:

Casualty evacuation: This is a test of lower and upper body strength. Candidates in full PPE will be required to drag a 55kg casualty walking backwards (guided by an assessor) around a 30 metre course.

Equipment assembly: This is a test designed to assess manual dexterity. Applicants will be given a demonstration of the test before having to assemble and disassemble a number of components to make an item of equipment.

Ladder extension: Using a ladder simulator, candidates will be required to extend and lower the ladder by an integral line (rope) to the required height. This test combines grip and upper body strength to demonstrate your ability to operate a Fire Service ladder.

Enclosed space: This is a test of confidence, agility and possible claustrophobia whilst working in an enclosed space. Candidates in full PPE and wearing a Breathing Apparatus facemask will be required to negotiate a measured crawlway within a set time. Half the route will be with clear vision and the other half with obscured vision. Candidates will be required to perform specific tasks during this test.

Ladder lift: The ladder lift test will simulate the individual and physical demands of lifting and lowering the head of a 13.5 metre ladder back on top of a fire appliance. This is a test of upper and lower body strength. Candidates in full PPE will be required to raise a bar 75cm off the ground to a height of 182cm and back down to the 75cm support. The weight of the bar at the lifting point will start at 5kg. The maximum load to be added is 15kg.

A detailed breakdown of the application process is available here.

A 12 week fitness programme has been prepared to help guide potential candidates, it is available here.

For those men and women who meet all the standards of the practical assessments and are selected to continue, a presentation and interview awaits them.

The presentation is on a topic of the candidate's choice and assesses a candidate's ability to stand in front of people and confidently deliver information.

The interview will involve a panel of DWFRS representatives and will focus on past experiences as well as the skills and attributes that make a firefighter.

The final stages of the recruitment process involve a medical and the collection of references.

If successful, wholetime firefighters will be expected to work a flexible shift pattern equivalent to 42 hours a week including days, nights and weekends.

During initial training, a trainee firefighter will be paid £22,237. Following the completion of initial training that will be increased to £23,162.

From there it will take between 18 months and two years to complete all the further development stages but the reward for doing so will be a salary increase up to £29,638.

Do you think you have what it takes? Recruitment is open NOW.

Click here to apply.