Women make up 24% of GFS – Fire Chief

– lauds them for playing critical role in its operations

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) on Wednesday conducted an all-women turnout exercise as part of its Women’s Day activities, where the importance of females taking up roles in male-dominated fields was underscored.

During the event, held in observance of International Women’s Day, a drill was completed by a team of women from the Guyana Fire Service and the Emergency Medical Technician Service.
One of the sub-officers attached to the GFS, Dianne Gill, explained that the exercise was done to show that women are needed in the field, and can perform the same jobs as men.
“We came out here, the full crew, to show that we women can do it…,” she said.

She added that it will be good to see more women join the Fire Service’s team and take up the profession with pride, while she urged women already in the field to make use of the full opportunities that are offered in the profession.
Further, Gill explained that the equipment for firefighting is heavy, and for this reason, teamwork is necessary.

In addition, an Emergency Medical Technician attached to the Central Fire Station, Johanna Hughes, related that women are needed for this EMT role.
“I want to say women have more empathy, and that extra touch that is needed,” Hughes said while stating that the job is also challenging. Meanwhile, during the exercise, Fire Chief Gregory Wickham reported that of the present composition of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), 24 per cent are women.
This is an increase in the number of women in the profession, since it was once male-dominated. He said the current batch of 78 recruits includes 14 women.
“We are creating that opportunity for our females, for our women to feel comfortable that they can work and perform as equally as our males have done over the years…every batch of recruitment that we train would have females, because they are important and they play a critical role,” the Fire Chief has said.