Tamworth firefighters talk about life on the job as recruitment drives kicks off

There's four platoons in Tamworth, and statewide the recruitment drive usually attracts more than 6000 applications every year.

Anyone interested needs to be physically fit and resilient, Tamworth station commander Jonathon Hughes said.

"I think one of the challenges of being in a regional area is the distances involved," he said.

"You're often in a small area or a small town and you don't have the immediate access to resources that you would in the city but we have back up from all over the state if it's required.

"It is the type of job where people may see things that are unpleasant and that's part of the nature of the job, the main thing is they need to care about the community and want to help."

The campaign was announced by Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Paul Baxter at a graduation ceremony of 16 new firefighters on Friday.

The graduates included a former interior designer, a professional lifeguard, a youth worker and builder, proof that firefighters come from all works of life.

Candidates go through a rigorous 13-week training course, a problem solving and physical aptitude test based on real-life situations, like dragging hoses and rescue dummies.

New recruits don't need any prior experience, Mr Hughes said, but they need to be physically fit and capable of doing the job.

"I think one of the positive things about being a regional firefighter is the sense of camaraderie, we tend to form a tighter group than guys that only see each other occasionally," he said.

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"It's a great job, I thoroughly enjoy it and we have a great team of people to work with."

Firefighters undertake a number of roles including fire response, investigation, community engagement, rescue and hazardous materials response.

Applications close August 4 and there are vacancies statewide, for more information visit the Fire and Rescue NSW website.

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