Category: News

Today we are delighted to announce the complete list of award nominees and celebrate the recipients of the Women in the Fire Service Awards 2023. We received nearly 70 nominations across 31 organisations, businesses and members of the public and would like to recognise each nominee for their exceptional commitment to their Services, teams and the communities they serve.

We’d like to thank all organisations and companies for supporting Women in the Fire Service UK in 2022-23. This year we’re delighted to announce that the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service have joined us as corporate members for 2023 bringing our supporters to nearly sixty.

In January, Women in the Fire Service ran the first ‘WFS Futures’ online event, ‘Introduction to the Fire and Rescue Service’. Nearly forty members of the public joined the session to seek advice and tips on future fire sector careers. The event was a positive action event, specifically aimed at groups of people currently under-represented in the Service.

Beth Curran, 24, joined West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) in February 2021 during the Covid pandemic. Working from home as an Administrator she is now a Partnerships and Vulnerability Support Officer in Prevention. Beth attended the WFS National Training and Development Event in June 2022 for the first-time.

Gail Read, 56, joined West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) in 2006 as an Administrator. She has held roles as Vulnerable Person Officer and Community Risk Reduction Officer; she now works in Prevention in the Partnerships and Vulnerability Team. Gail attended the Women in the Fire Service National Training and Development Event last June at The Fire Service College.

Vicky Collier started out her career in the Emergency Services in 2013 as a Retained Firefighter for the Falkland Islands Fire & Rescue Service. Vicky was successful at gaining a full-time role and progressed to Watch Manager, becoming the first qualified full-time female firefighter in the Falkland Islands.

On Friday, 7th October Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre supported and hosted an event ‘Embrace the pace of your own journey’, organised by Women in the Fire Service (WFS) Regional Rep, Jenny Nangle. It was the first-ever training and development event from the WFS Northwest Region. Jon Charters, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, opened the event and it was supported by Group Manager – Corporate Programme & Intelligence and Women and Families Chair, Tom Powell.

Women in the Fire Service are thrilled to be in partnership with Fire Knowledge in an alliance focused on developing diverse, talented and motivated workforces. We have committed to supporting the Practice to Progress Fire Partnership (P2P Fire) through the provision of highly skilled and passionate coaches from our network. They will take on the role of P2P Assessors, supporting selection and career progression coaching.  

Women in the Fire Service are proud to have a growing membership base, open to any gender aged 18 and over in the UK and beyond. We want to encourage greater diversity amongst our supporters and build our community by helping you to get to know our fabulous members.

We love to meet our individual members, learn about and share their stories on what inspires them in their personal lives and in the workplace. Selina Blain is Operational Admin Support in the Operational Policy and Assurance Department based at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre. In June this year, Selina joined us as an Individual Member, a ‘Super Supporter’ after experiencing her first WFS National Training and Development Event as a delegate.