Uppsala Fire Department held a try-out day for women interested in becoming firefighters to boost the proportion of female staff, currently at four percent among full-time firefighters. Participants tested smoke diving and car extrication under realistic conditions.
Uppsala Fire Department ran its third try-out day exclusively for women. Participants donned smoke-diving gear and eye-protecting hoods to simulate searching a smoke-filled building.
"It was much heavier than one thought," said Stephanie Giraldo while testing car extrication. Sofia Eriksson added: "You get a completely different view of the job when you try it yourself."
Örjan Lokeborn, operations leader at Uppsala Fire Department, stressed the value of diversity: "It is important to better reflect society and to have broader competence and diversity." He noted that effects are hard to measure short-term, as training takes several years.
Nationally, the share of women in full-time operative roles is seven percent per the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) in 2024, up from four percent in 2015.
