Fighting Fire and Stereotypes
Located outside Glamourous Gowns Bridal & Prom, 24 Market St - the former fire station
Josephine Reynolds (bottom right) with the Norfolk Fire Brigade service
In the spring of 1982, 17-year-old Josephine Reynolds sits across two senior fire officers at an interview to join the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Services. Following the 40-minute interrogation and a later 15 months of gruelling training at Wymondham's facilities, Reynolds became Britain’s first full-time female firefighter. At 21, she became the first woman to qualify to drive a fire engine. Despite facing barriers, such as a lack of basic amenities for women like separate changing rooms and ill-fitting uniforms in the early days, her career left her with many humourous tales. She has gone on to travel the world, as well as work as a humanitarian journalist and a television presenter.
Now nearing 60, she laments that the gender ratio in the fire service still skews 95% male, a pittance change since her days of active duty. Her memoir, Fire Woman is still available to purchase. (Highly recommended!)
The Wymondham High FemSoc chose Josephine Reynolds due to her active role not only as a female trailblazer in a male-dominated field known for its hostile environment but also for her continued advocation and outspoken activism regarding the issues she has faced, many years later.
We hope that her auto-biography and our project help shine a light on equalising the field long after we are gone.
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