WHEN fire rages through a house or a flood leaves devastation in its wake, it isn't just the emergency services that come to the rescue.

A little- known group of volunteers are usually at hand too after all the practical problems have been sorted.

The British Red Cross Fire and Emergency Support Service provides emotional support, clothing, housing assistance, advice or even just a cup of tea and a quiet place for those affected to sit and collect their thoughts.

And now after a busy start to 2016, the Wiltshire team, which is based at Swindon Fire Station on Drove Road, is looking for new volunteers who are interested in making a difference across the county.

Jo Riches, who heads up the team and has been a volunteer for five years, said: “We’re available to respond to emergencies across Wiltshire in support of the fire service.

“We have a vehicle based in Swindon and we work on a 24-hour rota with two volunteers per shift.

“The sort of calls we go to are normally domestic house fires or damage to homes but they could also be floods or other situations where we can provide emotional support.

“We aim to get to any incident within 90 minutes, then immediately we’re looking at the needs of the people affected, from their physical wellbeing to their emotional state, whether they have access to their possessions, whether they have insurance or need rehousing.”

All the volunteers complete thorough training and respond to incidents as observers before being placed on the rota for real – the training includes safeguarding and learning how to work within the fire service systems and procedures.

The response vehicle used by the team is a converted camper van, ideally suited for extensive storage but also with the comfort of a seating area in the back.

“We can bring people in and let them sit down and just process their thoughts,” Jo said.

“We’ve had everyone in there from children colouring in to adults and even pets.

“We also carry everything we hope we will need – we’ve got clothing for adults and children right down to babies, we’ve got baby milk, bottles, nappies, tea, coffee, biscuits, even dog and cat supplies.”

The nature of the team’s role means it isn’t something for people who want to be busy every day – volunteers may not go to a fire for a few months but then go to two in a week.

Charlotte Young, a 21-year-old university student from Swindon, is a relatively new volunteer but has been to two fires as an observer already.

She said: “Seeing someone who is very upset and seeing the state of their house after a fire is very different from the training.

“The people we helped were glad we were there, it took us about three hours to find one of them somewhere to stay but it was definitely worth it.”

If you are interested in finding out more about being a Red Cross volunteer, you can email Jo at jriches@redcross.org.uk