Fire crews celebrate Pride in Stoke-on-Trent

Firefighters and support staff from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service joined attendees at Stoke-on-Trent Pride celebrations.

The event at Hanley Park on Saturday (18 June), saw hundreds of people from across the county, and beyond, come together to celebrate LGBT+ diversity and culture in the city. 

A crew from Longton hosted a stall to promote the service and provide information.

An on-call support officer chatted with the public about opportunities to become an on-call firefighter in the area, and Welephant was also in attendance to encourage youngsters to join the Welephant Club – to learn about fire safety.

The firefighters and fire prevention lead were also on hand to deliver fire safety advice, particularly around protecting yourself if living alone from fire in the home, and reminding people to regularly test their smoke alarms.

Speaking of the event, Diane Dunlevey Equality and Diversity Manager said: “This was a fantastic Pride event, the turnout grows every year! It is important to celebrate all the diversity that Stoke-on-Trent has and was a great opportunity for firefighters and staff to engage with the public.

“We hope that people will consider joining the service as an on-call firefighter, or any of the varied range of opportunities and roles available. Equally we thrive on being inclusive and understand the value diversity brings to the workplace and the benefits that adds to public safety. 

“It was also a chance to remind people of how to keep safe in their homes and test their smoke alarms regularly so that we continue to reduce the number of fires across the county.”

To find out more visit: On-call firefighter recruitment (staffordshirefire.gov.uk)