A FIRE victim is encouraging businesses to employ on-call firefighters after his family garage firm caught alight.

Chris Barnard, from Gainsford End, called the Essex Fire and Rescue Service when one of his units at his garage went up in flames in March last year.

Mr Barnard, 46, who owns Gainsford Hall Workshop, had crews from Sible Hedingham, Halstead and Braintree come to prevent the fire spreading to other buildings.

Thankfully he was able to continue operating the same week.

Since then the father-of-two has employed on-call firefighter, Darren Hockley, who is a Station Officer at Wethersfield Fire Station.

He insists he benefits from his expertise.

He said: “As a businessman, I feel more confident knowing one of my employees is an expert in this field, especially in a working garage.

“My company has been trading here independently for many years and I’m very passionate about my local community.

"By employing an on-call firefighter, I feel that I’ve gone one step further in making my community safer.”

On-call firefighters protect their local communities by responding to incidents such as fires and road traffic collisions.

They must live or work within five minutes of the fire station so that, when paged, they are able to respond quickly.

Station Officer Hockley added: “I’m always very conscious that I have to be in a position to walk out the door at little notice while limiting the impact on the workforce.

“I believe communication is the key and I am always quick to contact Chris after attending an incident.

“Chris is always keen to understand more about my role with the service."

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has 36 on-call stations crewed by on-call firefighters across the county.

To find out more about releasing an employee as an on-call firefighter call 01376 576121.