Inspirational women from across South Yorkshire’s fire service are being celebrated this week, as part of a brand new ‘Women of Fire’ exhibition.
Pulled together by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, as part of International Women’s Day, the exhibition features portrait photographs of eight women currently working within the service.
#BreakTheBias
Organizers say that the exhibition has been designed to support the official women’s day theme – #BreakTheBias by celebrating the huge contributions of women to the fire service.
Chief Fire Officer, Alex Johnson, features alongside firefighters, senior leaders, corporate staff, and control room operators. She says that the exhibition has been designed to support the official women’s day theme – #BreakTheBias by celebrating the huge contributions of women to the fire service.
change in perceptions
Right across the country, we have amazing women playing a vital role in the UK fire and rescue sector"
“We’re starting to see a positive change in the perceptions around women in the fire service, which has been great, but we can’t stop now,” Alex Johnson said.
She adds, “Right across the country, we have amazing women doing a vital role in the UK fire and rescue sector, as they have been for years, and International Women’s Day provides us with the perfect platform to celebrate this."
exhibition showcase
Alex Johnson continues, “This exhibition has been designed to show that you can be a woman, and a firefighter, both at the same time. The staff featured in the portraits are living examples of that. So if you’re a woman who has long considered applying for a career in the fire service, but you’ve never made the leap, we want you to check out our exhibition. Every woman in those photos has done it, and so can you.”
The physical ‘Women of Fire’ exhibition will be showcased at the Winter Gardens, Sheffield, between Wednesday 9 March and Monday 14 March.
two photos
Each of the staff involved in the exhibition has had two photos taken to capture two sides of their character, one reflecting their life at work and one reflecting their life outside of it. The service has also developed a website dedicated to the exhibition, this can be viewed at Women of Fire and includes details of all those featured in the photographs.
The photographs for the exhibition were captured by Orestes S Rix, a portrait photographer who previously worked on the service’s FAMILY exhibition for Black History Month. The service would also like to thank North Notts College who provided media make-up students who supported the exhibition.