Sophia Perkins, aged 24, became a wholetime firefighter in January 2024 after wanting to pursue a career where every day is different.
After visiting a ‘Have A Go’ day at Corby Fire Station, she left feeling inspired that it was the right job for her.
Almost two years on, Sophia has nearly finished her course to become a fully qualified firefighter based at Kettering with Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.
She said: “Firefighting is a career built on teamwork and public service where every shift brings the opportunity to safeguard lives and support people needing help.
“It’s a job that’s more than responding to emergencies — it’s about protecting and preventing harm before it happens and supporting your community in meaningful ways.”
‘It hit me how real this job can be’
During her first fortnight in the job, Sophia was needed to respond to her first house fire shout.
It was no longer a pretend scenario in a controlled environment, instead there was real life risk involved.
Through the support of her team, she felt confident to be one of the first crews into the property. “The fire was absolutely roaring,” she said.
“It started in the kitchen and was escaping through the roof.
“I remember seeing the family pictures on the wall and it hit me how real this job can be and how we are needed during some the worst moments of people’s lives.
“The lady living in the property asked if we could save her mother’s urn and I managed to give it back to her which meant the world.”
On-call work
Sophia balances her role as a wholetime firefighter as an on-call firefighter too.
She is able to do this as she lives within eight minutes of Kettering Fire Station. It means she can help to provide emergency cover to her wholetime colleagues for an extra shift a week.
The only difference is Sophia isn’t permanently based at the Station on this shift and carries a pager on duty to alert her of an incident.
“Many on-call firefighters bring expertise from other professions, which adds real value to our crews and strengthens our overall capability,” Sophia added.
“During a response to a van fire, one of the on-call crew members from Burton Latimer – who is a trained mechanic – helped the team to quickly identify the location of the fuel tank and pinpoint the source of the fire.
“It was down to his quick thinking that helped the overall effectiveness of our response.”
When Sophia isn’t working as a firefighter, she likes to spend her spare time training for marathons and is aiming to take part in the London Marathon in 2026.
It’s her love for training which helps her to keep fit in her job. She and her partner, who is also a firefighter, train six days a week and go to running camps overseas.
She added: “My advice to anyone wanting to join the Service would be to make sure you balance your strength training with running to improve your endurance.
“Being physically fit is one of the main criteria for joining – and it gives you huge confidence to be able to do your job.”
‘Visibility matters’
She says it’s uplifting to be part of a Service that creates an environment where women are empowered.
“Having female colleagues, and a female Chief Fire Officer, is really important to me.
“Visibility matters at every level of the Service as I know a wider range of voices are being heard.
“Seeing women in leadership also boosts my confidence and makes me feel that one day I might be able to lead too.”
