Women across Hampshire urged to consider a career as a firefighter
Over the next two months, Hampshire Fire and Rescue are running female targeted recruitment events to tackle
The Hampshire fire service are looking to encourage more women to sign up through upcoming female focused recruitment events within the next two months
Currently, only 9% of firefighters nationally are female
Tor Strowger is the Assistant Director of Service Delivery for the response policy and learning teams at the service and has been a part of the service for 18 years
She told us when she joined it was initially something she never considered
"I think definitely when I joined the fire service 18 years ago, you couldn't see many women within the fire service. So maybe I didn't think it was maybe a career that was available or open to me.
then somebody suggested that it was. I went for it and obviously absolutely love it. Still here 18 years later. So I think it's about trying to break down those preconceptions for women."
Tor adds the key traits of a firefighter are not at all gender specific
"To be a good firefighter, you have to be calm under pressure, able to problem solve, work really well as a team, be effective communicator.
And those roles, they're not determined by gender. So anyone can do that. Anyone can be a good firefighter."
With less than one in ten firefighters being female, Tor said the service is aiming to have a workforce that is more representative of the community.
"We're trying to be reflective of our community and have like a much higher percentage that is more reflective of the community of women within the fire service in general.
And over the last 18 years, loads of work. There's lots of positive action, days and events always going on."
The service say booking is essential, with all the days and times listed below
Saturday 9th May Rushmoor
Saturday 16th May Ryde
Saturday 23rd May Cosham
Sunday 24th May Cosham (Female focused)
Saturday 30th May Basingstoke
Sunday 7th June Andover
Saturday 13th June St Marys
Sunday 21st June Southsea
Saturday 27th June Hightown (Female focused)