London Fire Brigade, the UK's top gay friendly fire and rescue service, will be joining in the capital's carnival atmosphere on Saturday, 5 July with a Pride breakfast at Soho Fire Station.
The event will be hosted by new London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority Chairman, Councillor Brian Coleman and for the first time London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson will be walking alongside firefighters in the Pride parade.
This year there is an added reason to celebrate as the Brigade has again improved its position in a national list of gay friendly employers, moving up to 13th place in Stonewall’s ‘Workplace Equality Index 2008’.
Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Councillor Brian Coleman said: “As the first openly gay Chairman of LFEPA, I am determined to get the message through that being gay in the fire brigade is just as ordinary as being gay in any other profession.
“But I can assure you there is no room for complacency and there is still much to do before we have a truly diverse workforce. We are proud to be part of London's Pride celebrations and look forward to working with the community.”
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: "I’m really looking forward to taking part in the parade, it will be a first for me and I’m keen to join firefighters and other Brigade staff to meet what I’ve heard is a very loud and welcoming crowd.
"It’s so important to be part of events like Pride to make sure that we are reaching the LGBT audience with fire prevention messages, and to encourage people who may not have thought about a career working with us to do so.”
Note to editors:
The Pride breakfast is an invitation only event, but members of the media are welcome to attend for interview and photo opportunities from 9.30am to 11am. The parade starts at 1pm from Baker Street, passing through Oxford Street and the West End before finishing in Whitehall.
Members of the media can obtain further information from the press office on:
telephone number: 020 8536 5922
email: press@london-fire.gov.uk
