Originally published here.
The preconceptions of the environment within a fire station can often be perceived to be a hyper-masculine space, but this is now an outdated mentality, according to an openly gay firefighter. James Rodgers, a recent addition to the London Fire Brigade (LFB) spoke to MyLondon about his experience as a gay firefighter whose life outside of the fire service exists primarily within queer spaces.
James, 24, is an operational fire officer at Dowgate Station, close to London Bridge. He has been in the job for a year and a half and in his time at the station he has joined their LGBT+ network, but admitted that it is often hard to meet other gay male firefighters in person.
James told MyLondon: "Before I joined I had some preconceptions but most of that ties into the idea that the fire service is lots of big burly men who are very narrow minded, when in fact LFB is a good representation of London in the sense that it is diverse. I wouldn't say it is very diverse but there are all these different people from different backgrounds that make up the workforce."
His life outside of the Fire Brigade exists within primarily queer spaces in East London and so his LGBT+ identity straddles his free time "being out with the girls and being at the station with the lads." James added that "what I want to achieve is to get rid of the mindset that fire stations can be uninviting places for diverse people."
James said: "I spend most of my time out partying in East London and most of my friends are in the drag scene and queer spaces like that, so my life outside of work is very queer and hyperfeminine, but I am still the same person there that I am at the station.
"I have never had to hide who I am at work. I am lucky because I am very confident in my sexuality and who I am and so rather than being uncomfortable or feeling as if I had to come out, I didn't have to make the conscious decision to come out at work."
James was not always set on a career within the fire service and though he does not fit the stereotypical image of a firefighter, he has been able to find a community within the London Fire Brigade.
On his journey to a career in the fire service, which began in 2019, he said: "I used to be kind overweight and I started running and spotted a firefighter fitness test 'have a go' event and I decided that I wanted to get in shape.
"I then did the real test and passed that and ended up being a firefighter for the local fire station near Reading and loved it. It wasn't very busy so that's why I made the move to London Fire Brigade."
Prior to James' appointment into the fire service, he had said that despite the 'uninviting' image of the fire service, as a result of pre-existing misconceptions about it's hyper-masculine work environment, he had few anxieties about taking on the role.
He said: "There was no anxiety as such, but the idea of the masculine environment that I had before joining the fire service, was way worse than the actual reality."
He added, though, that in terms of meeting other LGBT+ fire officers in the service, it had not been so easy. He said: "I have been in the service for just over a year and a half now and I've met one other openly gay male firefighter and whilst I know about others but actually meeting them is very few and far between, but it is nice to have the community network to be able to communicate with them."
On his arrival into the London Fire Brigade, James was able to become a participant in the LGBT+ network which has enabled him to connect with a variety of other members of the workforce who identify as LGBT+.
He said: "There's not many openly gay male firefighters but it was nice knowing that we had a group already set up that I could get involved in straight away.
"There is a preconception that LFB is a hyper masculine space and because I'm so visibly queer it almost seems contradictory that I have the job that I do."
Despite what many might think, James' job is not just putting out fires, as an operational firefighter he spends a lot of time out in the community working in schools and with a whole host of London venues.
He said: "My job is not just fires - a lot of our time is spent working with the community, doing home fire safety visits, school visits and this is why it is so important to have diversity in the fire service as when we head out to London we want to be able to represent the different communities that we serve."
A common thread, James said, that exists amongst LGBT+ people in the services is that they 'don't even think of their sexuality at the time of applying.'
The ability to work for London Fire Brigade, or any other industry that has a preconceived masculine workspace, is not dependent on sexuality or identity, and James is determined to become a figure that future generations can look up to.
He said: "LFB is very open and accepting, ultimately it doesn't really matter what your background is, what they are really focussed on is can you do the job well."
His advice to younger members of the LGBT+ community considering a career with LFB is that: "They shouldn't be scared about being authentic with themselves - diversity is what makes London what it is and so it is really just important for there to be representation in all jobs."
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