pony groom drops everything to fight wildfires for £14 an hour

Jenny Olley, a 35-year-old who works with polo ponies in Newmarket, is one of Suffolk's 381 on-call firefighters who must respond within five minutes of their pager sounding. She was recently deployed to a wildfire at Dunwich Heath, where the smoke was visible from miles away, and the crew continued driving for another half hour after first spotting it. Suffolk Fire and Rescue has capacity for 50 more part-time firefighters, who receive a retainer based on their available hours, a disturbance fee, and approximately £14 per hour when called to incidents.

The on-call system requires firefighters to drop whatever they are doing immediately when an alert sounds, whether that means leaving work, getting out of bed in the middle of the night, or interrupting family time. Olley's employers support her commitment, understanding that she is serving the community. Her family also adapts to the disruption, being woken by alerts and having her return home at unusual hours. The role demands not just the firefighter's dedication but also a network of support from colleagues who help with practical matters like collecting children from school or caring for pets when someone is called out.

Olley emphasizes that firefighting has no physical requirements regarding height or strength, and that a key part of the job is the ability to pause, take a breath, and focus on the task at hand. She describes the excitement of the alert and the satisfaction of knowing she has helped someone after every job. During the Dunwich Heath wildfire, crews from across the country joined the effort, and Olley noted the importance of maintaining morale and mutual support among firefighters during such demanding deployments.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Fire and Rescue stated that the service is always keen to hear from anyone interested in learning more about on-call firefighting or considering joining. The part-time model allows people from diverse professions—including a salesman and a builder among Olley's colleagues—to serve their communities while maintaining their primary careers. The Dunwich Heath incident highlights the unpredictable nature of the work, with firefighters responding to heathland fires that can spread rapidly and require sustained, multi-agency responses over extended periods.