Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service still lags behind national average for female firefighters

While female recruitment is on the rise their numbers are stilled dwarfed by male colleagues.

The latest Home Office data revealed that in 2019 there were 69 on-call and full-time female firefighters in the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, alongside 1,286 men.

This constitutes 5.1 per cent of the workforce, a one per cent increase since 2014, but still below the national average of 6.4 per cent.

For the volunteer led organisation, Women in the Fire Service UK (WFS UK), it’s a case of continuing to educate people to remove the cultural gender stereotypes and promote the Fire Service as a potential career for women.

A WFS UK spokeswoman said: ‘The general public don’t give much consideration to the gender of firefighters. All they are concerned about is that when they call 999 requesting the Fire Service that help arrives in the form of professional firefighters.

‘Unfortunately, it’s down to education. Many still see the role of a firefighter as a 'fireman' – someone who will be a hero and throw you over his shoulder and bring you out of a burning building as in films, but this is not how modern fire and rescue services operate.’

In 2018 to 19, 21 women joined the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service compared to 148 men.

A spokesman for the National Fire Chiefs Council said: ‘There is much still to do with regard to recruitment across the Fire Service, however statistics do show that the number of new female firefighters is on the increase.

‘It goes to show we are increasing diversity and services are therefore recruiting from all sections of society and attracting the best talent. This is a clear indicator that people see the role of a firefighter as a job for all.’