Call us firefighters, not firemen, says female fire chief

London Fire Brigade leader says the change of name would attract more women to take up the job

FIREFIGHTERS should no longer be called firemen – because it puts girls off taking up the job, according to the chief of London Fire Brigade.

Dany Cotton said she wanted people to drop the term, as part of a drive to encourage more women to become firefighters.

Ms Cotton, who became the first female Commissioner of London Fire Brigade at the start of the year, will today launch a drive to change the term at the Women of the Year Awards.

The latest Home Office statistics show that in 2016 only five per cent, or approximately 1,800, of firefighters in England were women. That figure was up more than a fifth from 2011.

London currently has around 300 female firefighters. Ms Cotton, who leads the largest fire brigade in England, said: “The first woman firefighter joined London Fire Brigade in 1982 and it’s ridiculous that 35 years later people are still surprised to see women firefighters, or calling them firemen.

“London is a complex and challenging city and it takes a diverse selection of skills, strengths and specialisms to protect it – qualities that both men and women possess. I want to shake off outdated language which we know is stopping young girls and women from considering this rewarding and professional career. We owe it to tomorrow’s firefighters to challenge negative stereotypes today.”

Women first entered the fire service in 1938 as concerns were growing over the onset of war. By the end of the war 90,000 women had joined the Auxiliary and later the National Fire Service across the country.

Most were then discharged, but some stayed on as volunteers in the Auxiliary Fire Service, which was gradually phased out and disbanded in the 1960s. Sister Mary-joy Langdon then became the UK’S first woman firefighter of recent times with East Sussex Fire and Rescue service in 1976. London’s first female firefighter was Sue Batten, who joined London Fire Brigade in 1982.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said: “Our firefighters do one of the most important jobs there is – helping to keep the rest of us safe – regardless of gender or background. Their heroic response in tackling this year’s deadly terrorist attacks and the Grenfell Tower tragedy is only a small proportion of their tireless work to protect and support all of our communities.”

A spokesman for the brigade said research had found that many women think firefighting is for men and the brigade was concerned that referring to ‘firemen’ reinforces the view.

Ms Cotton attended the 1988 Clapham Junction train crash, in which 35 people died, just three months into her career as a firefighter, and has described June’s Grenfell Tower fire as the worst blaze she has ever witnessed in her 29-year career.