Key Worker Campaign: Dougie Campbell, Station Commander

This week, DYW groups across Scotland are taking part in the Key Worker campaign in order to highlight some of the key jobs that are being undertaken during the current COVID-19 outbreak.
 
Dougie Campbell is a Station Commander for the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and he is based in Kirkwall.  He has worked for Scottish Fire & Rescue Service for over 20 years and here he tells us a bit about his current role.

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What attracted you to the industry you are in?
​From a very young age I wanted to be a Firefighter.  I was attracted to a job which provides the opportunity to help people, where you can genuinely assist people when they are at great need.  The job provides a daily variation in work routine and is always interesting, sometimes exciting.  It also provides stability and a fantastic feeling of achievement regularly.

Describe your day-to-day role.
No two days are the same.  I can be dealing with staff issues, attending meetings, being mobilised to operational incidents, answering email requests, training staff/being trained.  The job really is extremely varied.

What kind of training have you done?
At the start of their career all full-time firefighters attend the National Training Centre for basic training which lasts for 12 weeks.

I have attended a variety of courses since I joined to learn how to deal with incidents involving houses, large factories, chemicals, collapsed buildings, terrorism, road traffic collisions, etc.  You never stop learning in the Fire Service.

What skills have you learned?
​The Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) are fantastic at training operational staff to be competent in their role when dealing with incidents.  We also receive training in taking charge of incidents.  I have learned how to remain calm, deal with all the information I am receiving, process this information and make a plan of how to bring the incident to a safe conclusion, for all people involved.

What skills are the most important for you to do your job well?
This very much depends on which element of my job I am dealing with.  It might be arranging work into priority lists, dealing with the most important items first.  It might be people management or dealing with incidents.

Was there anything about the job that surprised you?
No, my family were involved in the Fire Service when I was younger so I grew up in or around a retained Fire Station, giving me a good insight.

Is there anything unusual about your role?
The variety of work.  You can go into work with a plan of action on outstanding tasks but that can all change very quickly and your tasks are all still there the next day as priorities have changed.

What’s your favourite part of the job?
Helping people, whether it is members of the public, SFRS employees, our partners locally in Orkney or the wider community.  I cannot think of another role where you get to assist such a diverse range of people.

Did you always want to pursue a career in this industry?
Yes, since I was able to talk!

What is your advice to school leavers looking to start a job in your organisation?
Apply!  Speak to your local Firefighters and learn about the extremely diverse role of a Firefighter.  We are actively looking to recruit Retained Duty System Firefighters in Orkney

What is your career goal?
I feel extremely grateful and privileged to achieve the role of Station Commander in Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, serving Orkney.

Tell us what makes you proud to be a key worker?
Watching the SFRS team in Orkney and nationally adjust to changes, offering their time and assistance in these difficult and uncertain times.  Firefighters tend to be ‘can do’ people and this has been demonstrated and well publicised throughout the Covid-19 outbreak.  The reaction of these Firefighters with these selfless acts has made me extremely proud.

The local emergency planning group has been inspirational with all participants working in collaboration, trialling initiatives, sharing ideas and demonstrated a willingness to help the community through this pandemic.

All agencies have shown a willingness to undertake meaningful multi-agency working, sharing assets and resources.

To find out more about careers with Scottish Fire and Rescue, visit their website, here.