Axed! Fireman Sam sacked for ‘putting off female recruits’
Fire chief says children’s favourite is an outdated reflection of service
FIREMAN Sam will no longer be used as a fire service mascot – in case he puts women off applying for a job.
The much-loved cartoon character has been dropped by Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue because he is no longer “inclusive enough”.
Chief Fire Officer Les Britzman said he took the decision after receiving complaints from members of the public and staff.
But critics have branded the move as “politically correct craziness”.
TV presenter Piers Morgan even launched a scathing on-air attack on Mr Britzman and said he should fire himself because he is a “white man”.
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue used Fireman Sam as a mascot.
Along with two fire extinguishers, Freddie and Filbert, he helped to boost recruitment and promote fire station open days.
Yesterday, Mr Britzman defended his decision to get rid of the popular character and said he refused to “pander to people’s views”.
“Fireman Sam is not our brand – we can’t freely use that and put it in our promotional material,” he said.
“We haven’t got rid of him because he’s a man but because Fireman Sam does not reflect the image we want to achieve.
“We’ve decided it’s no longer appropriate to use that image in our promotional material.”
Impact
Mr Britzman added: “It’s not hypocrisy. Yes, I’m a white man – across the fire and rescue service there’s about 95 per cent white males – but me being a white male does not reflect our society. Roughly half our society is female.”
The fire chief, who earns around £100,000 a year, told how the fire service had a “real problem” recruiting women.
He also claimed the animated TV show was “outdated”. He said: “Why can’t the producers or the owners update the brand and call it Firefighter Sam?
“The programme overall reflects diversity, but the character Fireman Sam doesn’t reflect diversity – we don’t call our firefighters firemen any more. It’s outdated.
“These images have an impact from a very early age and form what people want to do.”
Mr Britzman admitted there had “not been many” complaints about the service using Fireman Sam but declined to reveal the exact number.
Scores of people have since expressed their fury about the decision to drop Sam online.
Writing on Twitter, Matt Potts said: “The world has gone mad. Political correctness at its worst.” And Maggie Parkes added: “If they’re seriously suggesting women don’t want to join the fire service just because of Fireman Sam on the advert, I’d suggest they look further.”
Fireman Sam was originally created by two London firefighters in the mid-1980s and went on to become a popular children’s TV programme.
In 2008, it was given a CGI makeover and became more diverse with a female firefighter and disabled and ethnic minority characters.