IN RESPONSE to the highly critical report, the Fire Brigades Union has launched a campaign to combat discrimination in response to claims that racism, homophobia, and sexism are tolerated inside the fire service.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services discovered bullying and harassment in every fire department in England in March.
Firefighters, according to FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, have “repeatedly failed” to the point where some are reluctant to voice their concerns.
The inspectorate called it a “watershed moment,” noting that a quarter of the 44 services in the nation had misogyny, racism, and homophobia within its ranks.
At the FBU annual meeting in Blackpool which commenced on Wednesday (10), Wrack put forth the FBU’s intentions to implement its own set of changes.
Wrack said: “The public are right to be shocked at revelations in recent months.
“The values of the fire service should be about respect, comradeship and having each other’s back. Firefighting is a well-respected, humanitarian profession, but the issues of discrimination and harassment must be addressed.
“This crisis is the product of failings that go to the very top of the fire service.
“The government and chief fire officers and have systematically failed to address the issue of equalities over decades and especially since 2010, when central government dropped its drive for equality and handed all control to local chief officers and local politicians.
“Reports have shown how racism, homophobia, and misogyny are routinely ignored, or even instigated, by people at the very top. Firefighters have been repeatedly failed, and some are scared to speak out.
“Putting the same leadership in charge of rescuing this situation would be entrusting the situation to the people who created the mess in the first place.
“The Fire Brigades Union will launch its own set of standards on equalities and will hold fire services to account against these.”
The union has now revealed plans to investigate the industry as a whole and to combat bullying, harassment, and discrimination against firefighters.
A poster campaign was also launched with the goal of changing conversation surrounding discrimination in the fire and rescue service.
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