AN on-call firefighter who is now helping to save lives on an island is urging others to sign up...whatever their age.

Darren Allen began training to become a firefighters two years ago, when he was 43, in a bid to give back to the Mersea community where he has lived since he was a child

He is now part of a fire crew which responds to emergencies across the island and beyond if necessary.

Mr Allen juggles his job at the Royal Mail with being an on-call firefighter meaning he may get sent to an emergency at a moment's notice.

He said: “For me it was inspiring because even though I wasn’t the youngest person in the group, I could still do everything I needed to.

“It can be challenging at times, because you need to be committed to what you’re doing and the people that are around you - whether in training or at real incidents.

“Even from the very beginning it was clear that teamwork is a huge part of firefighting and that’s something that comes naturally to me.

“I’ve played football in the past, I work for Royal Mail which is team-based and now here on station – it’s all about working together and supporting each other.”

Volunteers on the island have to live or work within five minutes of the fire station in Barfield Road, West Mersea, and are paid for the time the are on call, as well as extra if they are tasked to an incident.

Mr Allen said: "I find it really rewarding being there for people when they need us - whether they’re my family and friends or even just people that live in the same area as me.

"Of course, we’re doing more and more prevention work to help them stay safe in the first place, too.

“I live around the corner from the station and I’m often first there.

"You know you could potentially be about to save someone’s life and there’s nothing quite like that feeling.

"When your alerter goes off, no matter what time it is or what you're doing, you get that buzz of excitement because you just don’t know what’s about to happen next.

"That’s not really like anything I’ve experienced anywhere else.”

To find out more information about becoming an on-call firefighter visit join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call/west-mersea.