Due to the current circumstances, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) celebrated Warwickshire Pride a little differently this year!
To celebrate Warwickshire Pride last year, WFRS wrapped one of their fire appliances in rainbow colours and with the words: ‘Fire doesn’t discriminate and neither do we’ to demonstrate that they aim to be a wholly inclusive organisation and to show support for the LGBTQ+ community. WFRS took the appliance to Warwickshire Pride, held in Leamington Spa with a whole host of activities taking place.
This year, due to the current pandemic, WFRS celebrated Warwickshire Pride a bit differently and were delighted to be hosting a series of virtual webinars in partnership with colleagues at Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Royal Berkshire and Buckinghamshire fire and rescue services. The webinars were a chance for the fire services to listen and to understand the communities around them and to have an open conversation on how fire and rescue services can improve for the LGBTQ+ community.
During each webinar, open panel discussions were held with a variety of guest speakers. In case you missed them, you can watch the webinars below:
- Positive Action & Inclusion, hosted by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service - https://youtu.be/WM8MoPluBu0
- Trans Awareness and Trans Acceptance, hosted by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service - https://youtu.be/9ZLn-vKGgEQ
- LGBTQ+ Hate Crime, hosted by Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service - https://youtu.be/vHhXpgBmzo0
Talking about the virtual webinars, Chief Fire Officer for Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, Kieran Amos said:
“Although we had to celebrate Pride a bit differently this year, we still wanted to be able to celebrate with the LGBTQ+ community and show our support in promoting equality and diversity within WFRS and across Warwickshire.
“We want to learn from the LGBTQ+ community with the aim of eliminating all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Thank you to everyone who attended one of the webinars. We had nearly 200 registrations and a fantastic turn out. We hope that the sessions proved a useful opportunity for everyone to listen and learn together.”
Councillor Andy Crump, Portfolio Holder for Fire and Rescue and Community Safety, said:
“We hope that by taking part in the virtual Pride events this year, all LGBTQ+ members of our community feel included, safe and supported by Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service.
“We want our organisation to be inclusive so we hope the webinars promoted equality, diversity and inclusion for our WFRS employees and the communities around us. The learnings from the webinars will enable us to develop the way we work going forwards so that WFRS is inclusive and an employer of choice for the LGBTQ+ community.”
If you’d like to find out more about how Warwickshire Fire and Rescue support and celebrate pride, please watch the video below from CFO Kieran Amos: