Cornwall Fire and Rescue Recruiting Control Operator at Tolvaddon

Picture a 3am call from someone trapped inside a burning building. Could you stay calm, work out where they are, mobilise the right crews and keep talking the caller through it until firefighters reach the door? That is the kind of work Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is currently recruiting for at its Tolvaddon headquarters.

What the role involves

The Firefighter (Control) Operator job sits inside the team that takes every emergency call coming into Cornwall Fire and Rescue. Calls arrive from members of the public, other emergency services, specialist bodies and neighbouring and national fire controls. Operators have to pin down the caller’s exact location, decide what to send, then handle the radio traffic with appliances and officers once crews are rolling.

It is not all fires either. The same team takes Cornwall Council’s out of hours Highways calls and other out of hours services, logging it all through bespoke software.

The job ad sets the bar high. Operators need to listen carefully, ask the right questions, capture information quickly and accurately, and stay level-headed in high pressure situations. Training also covers road traffic collisions and hazardous materials incidents.

Shifts, training and pay

The post is permanent, based at the Service Headquarters in Tolvaddon. Fire Control is staffed 24 hours a day, so operators work on a designated watch with 12 hour shifts on a two days, two nights, four days off pattern. Available hours are 42 a week.

Initial training runs for seven weeks, followed by an 18 month development programme. Pay starts at £27,970 during that development period and rises to £35,791 on reaching competent pay. There is also a Local Government Pension Scheme based on career average earnings, with the option of extra voluntary contributions.

Cornwall Council says it is happy to discuss flexible working such as part-time or compressed hours. Serving Firefighter (Control) Operators from other fire and rescue services are also welcome to apply.

How to apply

Applications go through the Cornwall Council careers portal. Stage one is a supporting statement and two questions of up to 1,000 words each. Shortlisted candidates then face a skills test in the week commencing 15th June 2026 covering radio, telephony, recall of information and typing, with interviews in the week commencing 22nd June 2026.

The advert closes at 11.59pm on 7th June 2026. Anyone who wants a look around Fire Control before applying or has questions about the process can email Adam Oliver at [email protected] or Helen Knight at [email protected].