LONG hours, life threatening situations and tough physical activities haven’t put Marlborough’s retained fire crew off from being the town’s 24/7 emergency response team.

“We do it to help people and we do it to give back to our community”they explained, moments before the blaring alarm went off inside the station and they sprung into action, adrenaline kicking in to face another 999 call.

There are currently just 10 retained staff at the station on the Parade, but Marlborough needs 24 to meet full capacity. An information day is taking place this month in a bid to recruit new staff.

Kent Yates has been at the station for over nine years and said: “It’s a job where each day changes and it can be very rewarding, especially because people in the local community appreciate the work we do. It would make a massive difference if we got more people here. The camaraderie is important, you spend a lot of time with these guys.

“If you give a little of your time as a retained fire fighter you will help the town.”

Justin Kimber, 42, joined Marlborough fire station 18 years ago after moving from Pewsey, where his father was also a fireman.

Not wanting to put his mum through the stress of knowing her son and husband were attending the same fires, he took the decision to move to Marlborough. He is now the watch manager and controls their response to a range of situations, from dealing with traffic incidents to saving people from drowning and controlling handmade explosives.

The crew includes builders, mechanics, and workers from the Town Council and Marlborough College.

After passing four rounds of training, retained firecrews spend between 40 and 120 hours on call a week and stay within one mile of the station in case of emergencies. The station's information day is taking place on November 28.