Two real life retained firefighters are starring in a radio advert as part of a campaign by North Wales Fire and Rescue Service to recruit part time firefighters across the region.

James Roberts is a Crew Manager based at Cerrigydrudion fire station and Tammy Llywelyn is a Firefighter based at Mold Fire Station.

Both took part in the advert, giving their viewpoint on what it means to be a retained firefighter, providing fire cover for their local station's area.

The 30 second advert will be broadcast on Heart 96 -107 from today (Wednesday), and will be featured on various programmes across Gwynedd, Anglesey, the NorthWalesCoastand North East Wales over the next two weeks. The recruitment campaign will finish in mid February, with the closing date for all applications being extended to February 15^th.

James, 27, has been an RDS firefighter for nine years, joining the service at 18. He was keen to take part in the ad to help recruit more firefighters to help protect his local community. He said: "It was great to experience something new and help recruit staff for our stations. I live within five minutes of Cerrig station, and provide fire cover outside my regular working day. So during the evening and weekends, I'm there to respond to a range of incidents in the area. The job is really rewarding and helps me feel that I'm playing my part to help keep my community safe."

Tammy, 29, provides cover at Mold fire station while working for her employer, Flintshire County Council. She joined the Service fire years ago and is keen to encourage others to look into a career as a retained firefighter. She said: "I really enjoyed recording the advert and I'd love to inspire those interested to consider a career as a firefighter.

"Lots of employers are aware of the essential role that retained firefighters carry out within their local communities and many release staff to carry out emergency duties. I'd definitely tell anyone who fancies the challenge to find out more!"

Ruth Simmons, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, explained: "RDS firefighters  provide essential fire and emergency cover for their fire station's area. We are looking for suitable individuals, in particular those available during the day, who can travel to their local fire station within five minutes of being paged for a call out.

"By featuring James and Tammy in the adverts, we hope to give potential applicants a real flavour of the life of a retained firefighter.  We are looking for both female and male recruits who are enthusiastic and can demonstrate common sense, commitment and dedication.

"North Wales Fire and Rescue Service provides close-knit, highly trained teams working with modern, hi-tech equipment. Recruits will also take part in the fire prevention work we carry out to prevent fires happening in our community. We're conducting open evenings in all the stations recruiting -take a look at our website or facebook page for more details."

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is recruiting at the following stations:

• Cerrigydrudion
• Llanrwst
• Corwen
• Denbigh
• Ruthin
• St Asaph
• Flint
• Mold
• Blaenau Ffestiniog
• Porthmadog
• Amlwch

Applicants must be at least 18 years old. They must possess a good standard of physical fitness and have the ability to pass aptitude tests. In addition to their monthly retaining fees, payments are made for turnouts, attendance and drill nights.

Anybody who is interested in a career as a retained firefighter should contact North Wales Fire and Rescue Service on 01745 535250 and ask to speak to their local RDS Administrator.

For more details and opportunities for a career as a RDS firefighter in stations across North Wales, please visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk or become a fan of our facebook page at www.facebook.com/Northwalesfireservice.