Daily Express uses firefighters to stir up racism and sexism

Explain to me this: how does a national newspaper make the leap from one fire service setting aside a few days to recruit women and ethnic minorities, to “white men banned” from joining?

Well, perhaps if you write to the Daily Express, they will be able to give some other explanation for this story, headlined “White men are banned”, but it seems like an obvious attempt to stir up racism and sexism in its readers to me.

The bosses held five open days to attract new recruits - with four strictly limited to either women, ethnic minorities or both. They insisted they had acted lawfully. But the move sparked outrage among MPs, serving firefighters and racial equality groups.

No, this isn’t a case of positive discrimination. No, white men are not being turned away from fire stations in droves. There were a couple of recruitment days designed by one fire service to make women and ethnic minority appliants feel more comfortable by assuring them they wouldn’t be massively outnumbered by white men. This prompted “outrage”? In all seriousness?

But Tory MP Philip Davies, who is a campaigner against political correctness, said the move by Avon Fire Service was “absolutely disgusting”. “This sort of thing just makes people’s blood boil and does more damage than good to race relations,” he said. “How would people react if women and black people were banned from an open day?”

The MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire added: “I don’t care whether the fire service is only made up of ethnic minority women - as long as they are the best people at fighting fires.”

“If the Chief Fire Officer is so concerned, he should give up his job to an ethnic minority woman instead of depriving other white men of a job.”

Let’s just unpick this a bit - first we have the notion that attempting to attract ethnic minorities and women into the fire service “makes people’s blood boil”. Only if you’re a racist misogynist, Mr Davies. This is swiftly followed by an assertion that he doesn’t care if the “fire service is only made up of ethnic minority women” -which is supposed to assure us that this MP is not actually racist or misogynist, but in fact does the opposite. Because he clearly sees it as acceptable to exaggerate for rhetorical effect by imagining a fire service staffed exclusively by ethnic minority women. In a reality where the service is to all intents and purposes staffed exclusively by white men, and most people probably equate fire fighters with white men, this steers dangerously close to ridiculing the very concept of ethnic minority women as fire fighters.

But we can also deduce from this that Davies doesn’t care that the profession is currently shutting out anyone - after all, as he says himself: what does it matter, as long as the job gets done?

And then we get to the absolute pinnacle of his statement, which I’m going to repeat in all its glory: “If the Chief Fire Officer is so concerned, he should give up his job to an ethnic minority woman instead of depriving other white men of a job.”

Yep, that’s right folks!

We’ve made a massive leap from a recruitment day to attract more diverse applicants, to “depriving other white men of a job”. Those jobs are, after all, set aside by society in perpetuity for white men, so giving them to anyone else is depriving a white man of a job.

Lasting six hours, two sessions were limited to women and ethnic minorities, one to ethnic minorities only and one to women only. Only one was open to all.

Avon Fire Service said they were trying to target minorities because up to 95 per cent of their 868 firefighters are white men.
Just to switch that last statistic around, only around 44 firefighters in this service are white or ethnic minority women, or ethnic minority men. Fourty four, out of 868. And yet the outrage that “only one” of three sessions were open to white men? The fire service is not operating some kind of positive discrimination quota system, remember. They are holding recruitment days.

Luckily for those 44 people, and anyone else other than white men who are thinking of becoming fire fighters, this sentiment does not seem to be shared by the fire service itself. Despite the Express’ assertion that the idea sparked outrage in “serving firefighters”, the story manages to quote only a single, unnamed fire fighter as objecting to this policy.

Apparently successfully - don’t read the comments on this story unless you feel like your blood pressure is in need of a bit of excitement. For example:

"As I watch my blond, curly haired, toddler grandson I feel sad that his genes, and mine, will dissapear but it is inevitable unless we take a stand and demand England for our own."

Ambushed, Bricked, Stabbed, Shot At, Spat At, Threatened and Abused: the Modern Face of Firefighting with 40 Attacks on Fire Crews Every Week

As a firefighter as part of a fire crew here in London, I have witnessed us being subjected a few times to bricks being thrown at us from youths, and objects thrown at us from the windows of high rise apartments, when all we were trying to do was our jobs. I last worked operationally in my firefighter role just over a year ago and these voilent attacks whilst working as part of a fire crew at Kentish Town Fire Station was still rife. As if our fire crews don't already have to work in the most hazardous of working environments. This behaviour from certain members of our communities is just plain unacceptale. There is a need for our government to do more to stop these attacks and this article was recently released from my trade union - The Fire Brigades Union - as part of a UK media campaign to raise awareness of the problem.

There are 40 attacks on fire crews every week in the UK according to new research. But under-reporting could mean the true figure is much higher than the 2,000 attacks recorded last year.

Attacks recorded by fire authorities in England and Wales are four times the official figures issued by Government. Attacks in England and Wales are in fact up 15% year on year, while the official Government figures show a dramatic fall of 68%.

In England and Wales, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) claim that attacks have fallen by 68%, from 1,300 in 2005-06 to only 400 in 2006-07. Figures obtained directly from fire services using the Freedom of Information Act show the actual numbers of attacks rose from 1,300 in 2005-06 to 1,504 in 2006-07, an increase of 15%.

Scotland, unlike England and Wales, publishes the official figures for attacks in the Annual Report of Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate. These official figures show that in 2005-06 there were 324 attacks on firefighters, while in 2006-07 there were 316 attacks. These figures correspond closely with figures supplied following FoI questions which record 329 attacks in Scotland in 2005-06 and 309 in 2006-07.

Northern Ireland collects figures in a different way with the total number falling from 342 in 2005-06 to 285 in 2006-07. These figures exclude a large number of civil disturbance and other calls at which fire crews face the threat of attack.

Fire crews report being threatened, intimidated and abused, and being pelted with bricks, bottles, and stones as they fight fires. Other incidents include ambushes, booby traps and being attacked with lumps of wood, knives and a petrol bomb.

In some areas abuse, threats and attacks are so frequent they are no longer reported. One fire authority, Tyne and Wear, has distributed 'spit kits' to fire crews to collect DNA from those abusing and spitting at them.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: "These figures alone would be cause for concern but we know that incidents of intimidation, threats and abuse are simply not being reported. These attacks are a major cause of concern for firefighters.

"It is almost beyond belief that fire crews are attacked and abused while fighting fires and trying to save lives. Yet in some areas attacking fire crews has become a recreational activity with very serious consequences.

"It cannot be part of anyone's job to face abuse, threats or attacks. It cannot be the job of an emergency fire control worker to face abuse while trying to help those who call 999.

"While fire crews and appliances are the direct targets the victims are those who live in these communities. A delay getting to a 999 incident can result in death or more serious injury.

"The consequences can be grave for the fire crews and emergency fire control staff involved. Physical injury is an obvious danger but the threat of attack or persistent verbal abuse can demoralise, cause anxiety and increase stress."

The independent report - Easy Targets? - published today, was conducted by the Labour Research Department for the Fire Brigades Union. The FBU accused Whitehall of neglecting the problem and called for a detailed and funded Government-led strategy aimed at significantly reducing attacks.

The report found that some fire and rescue services have well developed policies for tackling violence towards all fire service personnel. But others don't, and often fire crews who are assaulted and injured are treated in the same way as any other sickness absence.

Said Matt Wrack: "Frustration, boredom, alcohol and drug use can all fuel the problems of youngsters living in communities and on estates they feel are on the margins of society. The outcome can be recreational violence aimed at whatever represents the wider society these youngsters on these estates feel excluded from.

"The highest numbers of attacks are in areas characterised by poor housing, poverty and few or no facilities for young people. Understanding why attacks happen is not to condone or accept them as part of the job, but to help us address the problem.

"Most fire authorities are struggling to deal with the problem and good practice does exist but it is patchy. There needs to be a Government-led and funded national strategy with fire authorities required to put plans in place to tackle violence against their staff.

"This would replace the existing wish list of nice ideas and 'good practice' which don't have to be implemented. At the moment fire authorities are being left to deal with the problem on their own without the necessary support and funding.

"Government needs to take a lead rather than sitting on the sidelines ignoring the problem as it is doing in England. It is a different story in Scotland, Northern Ireland and increasingly in Wales where the parliaments and assemblies are playing a more direct and active role.

"We need dedicated national funding to support the fire service community initiatives which we know work very well and have wider community benefits. The fire service can reach youngsters and communities that others struggle to make an impact on."

Key parts of a national strategy:

All fire authorities being required to put in place plans to tackle the issue of attacks on fire crews;

Statistics: competent collection of standardised statistics on attacks.

Training: If incidents cannot be avoided then an appropriate level of 'conflict resolution' training - similar to that provided for the police - should be provided for fire crews paid for by dedicated national Government funding. There needs to be more widespread back up and support for all staff including emergency fire control operators.

National campaigns: public awareness advertising campaigns that challenge attacks on firefighters, similar to those run in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Fully trained and fast police response: the deployment of police community support officers should be replaced with fully trained officers with the powers of arrest.

CCTV: no further extension of its use on fire appliances until an independent assessment of its effectiveness and use has been completed. Most camera footage is unsuitable for prosecutions and what may help in one area may harm in another.

Resources - training and initiatives with schools and the community need to be maintained over the long term and need dedicated and long-term funding.

" RUN FAT BOY RUN!!! "

Running has been an activity that I have enjoyed since the age of 13years old but in recent years I had let this pastime slip away, and as a result, my lifestyle and health went on a downward spiral. I had two hospital admissions last year in the summer and the doctors just simply told me " take your running back up again!"..." and lose some weight!!!". Prior to that, I had been listening to my critics for too long at comments like "you're too old" , " It's bad for your knees" and " It's boring".

Well, do you want to know a secret? Not just any old secret, but one of the secrets to getting into the best shape of your entire life? I'll tell you. Running is one of the fastest and most effective ways to lose weight, achieve good muscle tone and improve your fitness. That's why it has long been the exercise of choice for major movie stars and celebrities who always need to be in good shape for public appearances. Its many benefits are well supported by scientific research. Studies have shown that running strengthens your heart and cardiovascular system and is highly effective at burning calories, thus reducing levels of body fat (including stubborn cellulite) and improving your body shape. This means that as a regular runner, you'll feel lighter, have much more energy throughout the day, and your self-confidence will soar to new heights as you lose weight and achieve the lean, toned physique you've always wanted.

And one of the most direct ways to boost self confidence is through physical exercise, particularly very tough workouts or completing a goal. Exercise is proven by psychologists to enhance self esteem and mood and is a great emotional tonic. By making exercise a challenge, such as aiming to run 3 miles in 25 minutes, and achieving your target you can give yourself a real boost.

Well I'm going to ignore my critics from now on, don my running apparel and continue with my habit of a lfetime...for life!