Fire service taster days for minority groups praised after criticism

Special taster days have been organised by Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service for members of the LGBT community, women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups.

Several sessions are taking place throughout August and September in efforts to encourage people from these groups to apply for a job.

The drive was criticised online for "excluding the white man" and not recruiting everyone together.

But people from minority groups feel it is a positive step forward.

Peter Roscoe, an LGBT activist who helped organise LGBT History month in Shrewsbury, said: "I think it's a very good idea. I'm sure the figures would show that if you look at the fire service, it doesn't actually represent the wider community in terms of how many people from minority groups are in it. It's apparent that there are very few women fire fighters. I know the numbers of black or brown people in the population in Shropshire are not particularly high, but I don't think I've seen a black firefighter.

"I think you'd find there are very few openly LGBT people in the fire service as well. The fire service is just trying to make itself more representative of the community it serves.

"Some of those people may feel nervous about joining because they're worried they might not be made welcome or might be excluded because people might not think they're good enough, which of course wouldn't be true.

"Until we have someone like the fire service say 'come along', you might worry. I think it's positive what the fire service is doing."

Caddyn Ffrench, organiser of a recent Black Lives Matter protest in Telford, added: "I think it's good. Sometimes you think these things could have been done a bit sooner. It's difficult to explain what it's like in terms of work. You don't want to feel like the odd one out. You get it in some industries where people will look at a black person and say they don't want to be served by you.

"I think it's good that the taster days are happening. It does help."

Hundreds criticised the campaign on social media, but Chief Fire Officer Rod Hammerton said: "As a service we are trying very hard to address issues that may be persuading some people from these groups that a career in the fire service is not suitable for them.

"By holding taster days tailored to address issues such as this, we believe we have a much better opportunity to dispel misunderstandings and provide people with good, accurate information.

"We also want to reassure people that the modern fire and rescue service can offer them a fulfilling and rewarding career.

"Taster days are not recruitment days. They are an opportunity for under-represented groups in the fire service to find out more about working as a firefighter and to encourage them to apply for future vacancies."