A female firefighter said her colleague is ‘not a real firefighter’ because she wears make-up and pink nail varnish when she is on duty.
Swindon firefighter Claire Williamson made the concerning comment on a post promoting female firefighters in Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) yesterday (5 September).
The positive post was added to the Amesbury Fire Station Facebook page before being shared on Wiltshire 999s’s page on the social platform, named Wiltshire 999s.
The post depicted Emily, an on-call firefighter, posing with a Barbie doll – sporting firefighting gear along with a motto on the box which says: “You can be anything”.
Alongside the photograph, which showed Emily wearing her uniform, make-up and pink nail varnish, was a blurb about the low number of female firefighters working at fire stations around the world and encouraging words about signing up.
Despite it being a positive message to women about joining DWFRS, Ms Williamson commented below: “Real female firefights [sic] aren’t allowed to ware [sic] any makeup let alone nail varnish!! Standards please”, rightly prompting defensive replies from Wiltshire residents.
The fire service raced to defend Emily against her Swindon colleague’s harsh words, issuing a statement on their official Facebook page.
The most notable sentence from the statement is: “We’re happy to accept all men and women who want to help their local communities whether or not they wear make up and nail varnish – as our policy shows.”
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole told Wiltshire 999s DWFRS welcomes the new Barbie.
“We welcome the introduction of a Barbie firefighter doll as this highlights our commitment to a diverse workforce”, he said.
“Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service proactively encourages anyone in our community to become a firefighter. To be an on-call firefighter, the only requirements are that you live or work close to the station, and you can pass the physical and education tests.
“We run regular ‘have a go’ sessions and information events so people can better understand the role and try out some of the tasks we include in our selection process. Details of these events are on our website.”
