The main duties of a volunteer firefighter are to help protect the public in emergency situations. They respond to a wide variety of calls, such as car crashes, chemical spills, flooding, water rescue and general rescue as well as fires. With many fire crews being trained as first responders they can provide first aid until the arrival of ambulance personnel. In addition to attending emergency call outs and rescuing people and animals from life-threatening situations, the job entails:

using sophisticated firefighting and rescue equipment
promoting fire safety via talks, advice and training sessions
demonstrating the use of firefighting equipment
performing practice drills
working with police and ambulance service personnel
undertaking physical and academic training
checking and maintaining vehicles, equipment, hydrants and water supplies