Fire and Rescue Services
(asked on 20th June 2014) - View Source
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many front-line firefighters are female; and how many of such firefighters still active in front-line service are over the age of 55 years.
Numbers of firefighters are collected annually from each fire and rescue authority, and this includes profiles by age and by sex. The latest data are shown in the tables.
These show that in England in March 2013 there were 1,755 female firefighters, and 1,040 firefighters over the age of 55. Separate age profiles for males and females are not currently collected.
Firefighter numbers by rank and sex, England, March 2013
| Men | Women |
Brigade Manager | 138 | 4 |
Area Manager | 176 | 6 |
Group Manager | 552 | 13 |
Station Manager | 1,453 | 40 |
Watch Manager | 5,111 | 143 |
Crew Manager | 5,782 | 172 |
Firefighter | 25,822 | 1,377 |
Total | 39,034 | 1,755 |
Firefighter numbers by rank and age, England, March 2013
| 17-24 | 25-35 | 36-45 | 46-55 | 56-65 | 66+ | Age Not Stated |
Brigade Manager | 0 | 0 | 29 | 102 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Area Manager | 0 | 2 | 55 | 120 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Group Manager | 0 | 7 | 185 | 347 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
Station Manager | 0 | 47 | 534 | 875 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
Watch Manager | 1 | 353 | 1,974 | 2,651 | 273 | 1 | 1 |
Crew Manager | 11 | 1,107 | 2,607 | 2,023 | 202 | 3 | 1 |
Firefighter | 1,389 | 9,222 | 9,803 | 6,290 | 478 | 4 | 13 |
Total | 1,401 | 10,738 | 15,187 | 12,408 | 1,032 | 8 | 15 |
The proportion of firefighters who are women has risen since 2010.