A VIRTUAL lunch event is being held on Wednesday (July 17) for residents in West Somerset and the Wellington area to meet new Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (DSFR) chief fire officer Gavin Ellis.

People are being invited to join the online ‘lunch’ from 12 noon to 1 pm to find out more about Mr Ellis and his role and future vision for the fire and rescue service.

Mr Ellis will be joined by an on-call woman firefighter from Middlemoor Fire Station, in Exeter, who will talk about how she fits the job around her personal life.

A DSFR spokesperson said: “This will be of interest to anyone thinking of joining our service.

“It does not matter what your background or experience is, whether you represent an organisation or are speaking as an individual, you are very welcome.

“If there is something you would really like to find out about, you can share your questions in advance by emailing [email protected].

“We understand there may be some strong views in the virtual room, so we may suggest a separate conversation if we feel a topic needs more time.”

The session will run online through video conferencing platform Microsoft Teams, the link to which can be accessed on the day by anybody who has an account.

Anybody with problems joining should call 01392 719999.

Wellington and Dulverton Fire Stations are currently recruiting more on-call firefighters and anybody interested can visit the stations on their weekly Tuesday drill night from 7 pm to 9 pm and make themselves known to the crew.

More information about joining DSFR can be found here.

Anybody who lives or works within five minutes of their local fire station and is interested in becoming an on-call firefighter can express an interest before applying and can attend one of DSFR’s ‘have a go’ sessions.

The next session will be on August 3, in Totnes, Devon, followed by September 14, in Yeovil, and October 5, in Taunton.

The spokesperson said: “This is an incredibly rewarding job serving our community and further afield assisting those in need.”