County has highest percentage of female firefighters

GLOUCESTERSHIRE Fire and Rescue Service has the highest percentage of female firefighters in the country, Home Office figures show.

Data shows that 17.1 per cent of firefighters at GFRS are women – 73 out of its total – making it the top-ranked service in England for its proportion of female firefighters.

It was ranked well above West Midlands, the next highest in the list with 12.1 per cent, and Merseyside, with 11.4 per cent.

Gloucestershire was among only five fire and rescue services in the country to have achieved higher than 10 per cent when the workforce diversity data was recorded on March 31 this year.

It comes after a drive by the Home Office to attract a greater diversity of people to fire and rescue services, including a higher proportion of female firefighters, in line with recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

Latest figures from GFRS show that female staff make up nearly 25 per cent of the total workforce, including control room and support staff – 114 out of 466.

The high proportion of female firefighters at GFRS was strengthened by a recruitment drive for full-time firefighters earlier this year, which saw 14 per cent of applications from women and 38 per cent being successful at interview.

Chief Fire Officer Mark Preece said: “I’m delighted that the high proportion of female firefighters we have at Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service has been recognised in these figures and ranked us the highest in the country. We strongly value equality and diversity in our workforce and will continue working hard to build on this.”

Councillor Dave Norman, cabinet member with responsibility for the fire and rescue service, said: “We will continue the great progress we are making on our improvement journey to ensure we attract a diverse range of people who reflect the communities we serve.”