Avon Fire criticised over women

Ms Morris said things had improved

Avon Fire and Rescue Service has said it is doing "all it can" to recruit more women after new figures showed they were under represented.

Some 29 of its 905 firefighters are women, which is above the national average but lower than its target.

Female firefighters make up less than 3% of the total UK force, below the government target of 15% by 2009.

The Fire Brigades Union said it was "disgraceful" that the service would miss this target.

John McGhee, national officer at the union, said ingrained attitudes within the service needed to change.

Maybe there's this perception it's a man's job Jan Morris, watch manager

"Unless there is a fundamental change, we are not going to improve that record.

"It's got to be driven by the leadership, by those at the top and there's got to be more commitment."

Jan Morris, watch manager at Yate Fire Station in South Gloucestershire, said the situation had improved since she joined 10 years ago.

But she added: "Maybe there's this perception it's a man's job. 95% of our firefighters are white males. That's the history of the fire service.

'Making progress'

"In the training centre there were male toilets and female toilets but I was told that I couldn't use the female toilets because they were for the training officers to use.

"So I had to use the same toilets as the blokes. Because you just want to do the job, you just got on with it, because that's what you want to do," she said.

Kevin Pearson, chief fire officer at Avon Fire and Rescue, said the service was making progress.

"We are absolutely determined and committed to doing everything that we possibly can, to encourage more women to apply.

"We've run a number of recruitment campaigns over the last few years and we have tried to target women as a group who we want to encourage more applicants from."

Fleur Lombard was one of only eight females among Avon's 700 firefighters when she became the first woman to die in peacetime service in Britain in 1996.

She died in a Bristol supermarket fire started by an arsonist and was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

A security guard was jailed for manslaughter and arson.