The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service is currently hosting ‘come and try it’ sessions as part of its new recruitment drive.

The sessions have looked to give those who aspire to be firefighters the opportunity to see how the service works, alongside physical activities such as hose handling and the stamina ‘bleep’ test.

Talking about the sessions, a firefighter at Douglas Fire Station, Blake Kelly, said: ‘The reason we’re doing these sessions is to give people that insight.

‘There is the bleep test, which we already have set up here [Douglas Fire Station] with the bleepers, so it’s much easier to do here than it is to set it up on your own.

‘We also have the “BA” (breathing apparatus) crawl in these sessions, where there will be a 7ft tunnel for participants to climb through while wearing heavy breathing equipment.

‘The bleep test is probably the activity that puts people off because of the trauma of doing it in high school, but I would encourage people to come and give it a go.’

Mr Kelly is a member of the ‘blue watch’ team at Douglas Fire Station. Another member of the blue watch team, Sean Bostrom, said: ‘My advice to participants would be to just take it as it comes.

‘Don’t think about what’s coming next and try to conserve any energy, just live in the moment and always listen to what is being said to you.’

The final ‘come and try it’ session takes place on Thursday, February 8 from 6.15pm until 8pm.