Skip to main content
Home
  • Home
  • About us
    Back
    About us
      • Our people
      • Our fire stations
      • Fleet and equipment
      • How we respond to emergency calls
      • Community Risk Management Plan
      • In your area
      • Information and data transparency
      • What we spend
      • Our performance
      • Request information
      • Have your say
        Back
        Have your say
        • Community conversations
        • Complaints
        • Compliments
      • Developing our Service
      • Our environmental strategy
      • Equality and diversity
      • Work with us
      • Covid-19 response
      • Fire Authority
      • Fire, rescue and safety training (Red One)
      • Firefighters' pensions board
  • Newsroom
    Back
    Newsroom
    Ed stood outside 10 Downing Street
    News
    17 Mar 2023

    Ed receives Queen's Commendation for Bravery

    Five female firefighters in front of a fire engine
    News
    07 Mar 2023

    Celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March

    • Incidents
    • News
    • Events
    • Social media
  • Safety advice
    Back
    Safety advice
      • Safety at home
        Back
        Safety at home
        • How to stay safe
        • Smoke alarms
        • Home safety visits
        • Risks in your home
        • Advice for carers
        • Advice for parents
      • Business safety
        Back
        Business safety
        • Risk assessments
        • High rise buildings
        • Guidance for businesses
        • Landlords and holiday lets
        • Inspections and enforcement
      • Safety outdoors
      • Safety on the road
  • Careers
    Back
    Careers
      • Vacancies
      • Become an on-call firefighter
        Back
        Become an on-call firefighter
        • Application process (on-call)
        • On-call firefighter pay
        • On-call vacancies
        • How on-call firefighters benefit businesses
      • Become a wholetime firefighter
        Back
        Become a wholetime firefighter
        • Application process (wholetime)
      • The role of a firefighter
      • The role of a fire control operator
        Back
        The role of a fire control operator
        • Become a fire control operator
      • Support staff roles
      • Looking after our people
        Back
        Looking after our people
        • Embracing equal opportunities
        • Supporting women in the Service
      • Pay rates
      • Benefits
      • Request a careers talk
  • Education and young people
    Back
    Education and young people
      • Early years, reception and year one
      • Primary schools
        Back
        Primary schools
        • Fire and road safety resources
        • Great Fire of London
        • Primary school fire safety visits
      • Secondary schools
      • Fire starting behaviour in children
      • Young drivers
      • Join the fire cadets
      • Work experience
      • Fire station visits by youth groups
Search

People often search for...

When should I test my smoke alarm?
Home safety visits
Thatch fire safety
Report a problem with a fire hydrant
How safe is my heater?
Chimney fires

Contact

  • Contact us
Accessibility Tool
  • Zoom in
  • Zoom out
  • Reset
  • Contrast
  • Accessibility help

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Celebrating LGBT+ is more than changing our logo
FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsappMessenger Share
News
07 Feb 2022

Celebrating LGBT+ is more than changing our logo

Chief Fire Officer, Lee Howell
Chief Fire Officer, Lee Howell

We are proud to be celebrating LGBT+ history month. To us, it’s about making sure everyone who works for us feels supported to be themselves. As well as ensuring everyone in Devon and Somerset knows we are here to help when you need us.

Chief Fire Officer, Lee Howell talks about the importance of inclusion and how embracing fresh ideas helps us all grow, develop and improve.

Lee explained: Many years ago, I was approached by a friend of a firefighter who wanted to ‘come out’ but who was concerned about how his watch would treat him. I need not have worried – the response from the firefighter’s watch was hugely supportive and difference was respected. This example really reinforced in my mind that firefighters work as a team and do value difference. We are ‘people focused’ and do genuinely care about the public we serve and our colleagues.

“Inclusion is about welcoming diverse views, perspectives, and people. As a Service, we still need, and want to do more in some areas to ensure that we welcome difference in views, gender identities, and sexual orientation and don’t expect or assume that colleagues need to ‘fit in’.

“Some of the best teams in the world actively seek difference in their employees as they design products and services that meet the needs of the wider society. Every generation thinks differently and as society changes around us, we need to be constantly changing too. We are recruiting firefighters, many of whom are younger than colleagues currently employed so we are already on a journey of bringing in new thinking that comes with new employees.

“At the same time though, I know that many colleagues (myself included), continue to seek to learn and consider new ways of working. Together we are bringing fresh ideas to help the organisation grow, develop, and improve. Our Executive Board is drawing a wide range of views together to assist us to make decisions that don’t disadvantage any group and proactively look to reduce any discrimination.

“As a Service we want to be the best we can be, and to do this, we need to accept and celebrate difference. Difference is good. It provides different thinking and different experiences to our own.”

For LGBT+ history month, Lee has made the commitment to make time to listen to LGBT+ colleagues’ experiences (positive and negative) as well as considering how he can support the aim of LGBT+ History Month to “eliminate prejudice by educating people”.

Lee has also challenged his fire service colleagues to do at least one thing that expands their experience or knowledge of the LGBT+ community. This might be committing to attend a Pride event or reading up on an LGBT+ subject. Working and thinking in this way is at the heart of our organisations’ values.

Our people

Find out more

Equality and diversity

Find out more

Careers

Find out more

Footer menu

  • Home
  • About us
      • Our people
      • Our fire stations
      • Fleet and equipment
      • How we respond to emergency calls
      • Community Risk Management Plan
      • In your area
      • Information and data transparency
      • What we spend
      • Our performance
      • Request information
      • Have your say
      • Developing our Service
      • Our environmental strategy
      • Equality and diversity
      • Work with us
      • Covid-19 response
      • Fire Authority
      • Fire, rescue and safety training (Red One)
      • Firefighters' pensions board
    • Newsroom
      • Incidents
      • News
      • Events
      • Social media
    • Safety advice
        • Safety at home
        • Business safety
        • Safety outdoors
        • Safety on the road
    • Careers
        • Vacancies
        • Become an on-call firefighter
        • Become a wholetime firefighter
        • The role of a firefighter
        • The role of a fire control operator
        • Support staff roles
        • Looking after our people
        • Pay rates
        • Benefits
        • Request a careers talk
    • Education and young people
        • Early years, reception and year one
        • Primary schools
        • Secondary schools
        • Fire starting behaviour in children
        • Young drivers
        • Join the fire cadets
        • Work experience
        • Fire station visits by youth groups

Translate the website

Footer contact

  • Contact us

Staff login

Always call 999 in an emergency

Did you find this page useful

  • Yes
  • No

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Follow us
  • Print this page

Footer bottom

  • Our website
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies
  • Privacy notices
  • Modern Slavery Act 2015
  • Accessibility

Disability Confident employer logoEmployers Network for Equality and Inclusion logoBritish Quality Foundation logoEmployers network for equality and inclusion logoFire pride and allies logo