Fireman Sam is putting women off joining the fire service

Fireman Sam is putting women off joining the fire service because “most of the job is nothing like it is portrayed”, a female chief has said.

Senior fire officer Alex Johnson believes the CGI firefighting idol and images of men rushing into burning buildings does little to encourage gender equality.

She is campaigning to attract more women into the 999 service with just 5.2 per cent of firefighters in England women. In 2017 there were 1,838 female firefighters compared to 33,782 male firefighters.

"This is largely because of the image of firefighters portrayed in the media and in films, which is of men rushing into burning buildings to rescue people,” Ms Johnson, temporary deputy chief fire officer for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said.

"Children's shows like Fireman Sam don't help to break down stereotypes either.Most of the job is nothing like it is portrayed. We do community and youth engagement work, where we need to be seen to be representative of the population.

" Women and people from different ethnic backgrounds are simply not considering being a firefighter because they are not seeing themselves represented."

Ms Johnson has fronted a social media campaign to get women to join the fire service, which focuses on children singing the praises of their firefighter mums.

It comes after Dany Cotton, London Fire Commissioner, revealed last year that she had been bombarded with abuse and had hate mail sent to her workplace after launching a campaign to encourage people to refer to "firefighters" rather than "firemen.”

She had suggested that Fireman Sam should be renamed Firefighter Sam as part of a campaign to encourage more women to consider a role in the fire brigade. Fireman Sam was first aired an 1987 and finally recruited a female crew mate, Penny, in 2003, although Sam continues to save the day in most episodes.

A spokeswoman for Mattel, which represents the Fireman Sam brand, said the company was committed to representing the work of all firefighters appropriately through the show. "

Fireman Sam is a much loved and iconic brand and we are constantly evolving to make sure that we stay true to the show's heritage, as well as representing the world that children see around them today," she added.

"The team are always referred to throughout the show as firefighters except Sam, whose title has not evolved in his role as the show's namesake. " We recognise the need to stay relevant and we continue to evaluate the show to ensure Sam remains an aspirational hero for generations of pre-schoolers."