Fire Officering - what you do
45 minutes before the films starts, the Fire Officers checks the Auditorium is safe. There are 10 checks that must be completed before the doors can open, and the most arduous of these involves counting. When the audience is coming in, they make sure anything that could impede an evacuation - large bags, golf umbrellas, giant fish in bear suits - is left at the back. This is the hardest part of the job - you sometimes need to be able to hold your ground and explain our very basic fire safety regulations (they boil down to, "You can't come in with that sword."). Then, if there *is* a fire, they make sure the projectionist leaves (stubborn as mules, projectionists).

What you get
Once qualified, you get a complimentary seat to every single film we show. This is in addition to getting in free when you're working, so if you're Firing a film you can get a friend in for free too. You don't have to see all the films we show - the more volunteers we have, the less work you have to do. Plus you get a load of other random perks: you can hang around in our office, with its sofa, fridge, computer, server (if you want your own website), Empire subscription and Film Unit types just gagging to argue with you over the finer points of Pulp Fiction. We get invited to free press screenings at UGC that you can come to. You'll be eligible to wear the always obscurely hilarious Film Unit T-Shirts. You'll be invited to any social events the committee concocts, plus one other thing that we can't publicise but is very cool.

How to sign up
It takes three training sessions to qualify to Fire - first you're shown what to do, then you do it yourself (with occasional help), and finally there's just someone looking over your shoulder in case the whole world explodes. Not all Fire Officers can train other people to be Fire Officers, however - so rather than sticking your name on the log sheets outside our office you need to contact us so we can organise someone to train you. After you're qualified, of course, you can sign your name up yourself.