A WOMAN has realised her burning ambition to follow her lifesaver dad into the fire serice.

Whitchurch Fire Station crew commander Mark Andrews used to be watched by daughter Shannon racing to the fire station when his pager bleeped.

But now the duo are part of the same team heading to blazes with blue lights flashing and sirens wailing, after Shannon became an on-call firefighter.

“As soon as I reached 18, I put in my expression of interest to become an on-call firefighter and I was accepted,” said Shannon.

“It wasn’t a straightforward process though, as I only weigh eight-and-a-half stone, and it took a while to build up the strength to pass the physical tests – which is often the case with smaller men and ladies. Undeterred, I trained hard and built up my strength and techniques to enable me to pass first time.

“I would say to anyone who is struggling not to give up.

“If you want something enough, it’s worth fighting for and I am so proud to have made it,” added Shannon, who had volunteered for the service before applying, helping Mark with trauma training that often involved being covered with realistic injuries in practice scenarios.

Mark himself started as an on-call firefighter in Whitchurch in 1992.

“I joined aged 18 and achieved the role of crew commander a few years later,” he said.

“I ran Evesham Station before I moved closer to home as a district watch commander, overseeing Whitchurch, Ewyas Harold and Ross-on-Wye stations.”

His daughter joined Whitchurch Station in February last year and, after passing her initial course, was thrown in at the deep end straight away responding to cliff rescues, road crashes, floods and barn fires.

She even stopped on her way back to work from the fire station to assist a mother and unresponsive baby, utilising the trauma skills she had learned on her course and all those training sessions with her dad.

It was just eight hours after completing her breathing apparatus course that Mark sent her into her first house fire in the early hours of the morning.

Mark recalled: “I remember looking over my shoulder watching her preparing her BA set and it reminded me of myself all those years ago – the adrenaline and nervousness all combined into one.”

Mark was confident in Shannon’s ability to deal with the fully developed house fire, as he had been one of the instructors teaching on her course, though.

“It was a privilege to pass on the skills and knowledge to the next generation of firefighters,” he said.

Shannon, who is 20 this month, combines her on-call firefighting role with a full time job as a general assistant beside the fire station at the Wye Valley Visitor Centre.

Whitchurch are currently looking for recruits to join the team.

Anyone interested can call 01905 3686343 or 01905 368378 or email [email protected] for further information.