Burning desire to hire female firefighters

RecRuitment: Fife crew manager leads campaign to get more women to join the brigade

She has already driven a fire engine from Scotland to Serbia, so Stacey Hodge’s next challenge should hopefully be a bit more straightforward.

The Fife firefighter has issued a rallying call, encouraging more women to join the service, following her 10-day, 2,000-mile journey across Europe.

The 36-year-old crew manager at Glenrothes Fire Station has been selected to spearhead a recruitment drive by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, with an emphasis on attracting more women.

It comes after she travelled to the Balkans to deliver a fire engine and provide training to local firefighters.

Stacey said the experience had fired her up for her recruitment campaign closer to home.

“It was really important to me to get involved in a project like this,” she said.

“Over the last 10 years in the UK there are a lot more female firefighters, but in the whole of Serbia there is only one woman working as a firefighter.

“They couldn’t believe I was driving a fire engine.

“They were speechless that I was not only participating in everything but actually teaching them skills too but they soon adapted and we got on with the task in hand, protecting communities.”

Away from the fire service, Stacey is mother to 11-year-old daughter Chloe at their home in Lochgelly.

She joined the fire service nine years ago and has noticed a steady rise in the number of women working in the sector – and a determination among her female colleagues to succeed.

“I was a foreign exchange adviser on maternity leave when I heard the fire service was recruiting,” she said.

“I was looking for a real change, so I went for it.

“When I joined in 2008 there were 88 people on my training course and only eight of those were women but every single one of those women passed the course.

“Now there are loads more women in the service. I’ve always been treated equally, and as part of the team.

“I love what I do and there is a real team spirit within my watch.

“It can be a tough job but it is very rewarding and I would recommend a career in the fire service.”

When I joined in 2008 there were88 people on my training course and only eight of those were women. STACEY HODGE

Stacey Hodge on her trip to Serbia where she delivered a fire engine and helped to train local crews.