Fire service is too white and too male, report finds

According to the report, the fire service was "institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic."

Commissioned by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), the report said that firefighters in Britain are not "diverse" enough due to the disproportionate amount of women and minorities within the force compared to wider society.

According to the report the "common image" of a firefighter is "for the most part, of a white heterosexual male turning out in a fire engine to fight fires."

It added: "The diversity of the service needs to be much more reflective of the communities it serves and the wide range of services it delivers.

“Whilst progress has been made, the pace has been slow and progressive action has been applied inconsistently. Too many people are still being let down."

The review found that as of March 2024, 9.3% of firefighters in the service were women, while 5.4% belonged to ethnic minorities.

According to the advisory group that carried out the report: “Leadership programmes need to focus as much on inclusion as they do on operational and strategic competence.

“There is a gap between leaders who live their values in line with inclusion and those who operate in line with exclusionary values.

"The sector requires strong, inclusive values-led leadership."

The fire service is rife with "harassment, abuse and discrimination” and those that speak out are "victimised", while cases of misconduct are "badly managed", says the report.

It adds: “The misconduct system needs a radical overhaul, with a need for the sector to develop a more professional, nationally consistent misconduct system, based on evolving good practice.

“From the work we have undertaken, we would concur with these findings that the sector is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.”

The NFCC praised the report and stated that they will strive for a “safe and inclusive places to work."

Chairman of the NFCC, Mark Hardingham said:  “Our efforts to improve culture and inclusion must be continually embedded into everything we do.

“We acknowledge the dedication of those driving positive change in fire and rescue services.

"But we also recognise that inclusion is not yet felt by everyone and change is not always happening fast or consistently enough.”