Why We Came Together

Culture on Fire started with conversations on LinkedIn about how fire services around the world have similar cultures. And that these cultures were not always positive.

From our conversations, we realised that we weren’t imagining that bullying, harassment, exclusion through toxic cultures existed internationally within the fire service. Nor were we alone in recognising that these operate to exclude and reject women and minority groups.

We’re a group of firefighters, leaders, researchers, and advocates who are increasingly recognising that similar patterns of behaviour keep showing up. As a consequence, the three of us came together to start a conversation, to name what’s happening, to highlight systems that work and call out the ones that don’t.

We know that when systems are out of balance, harm happens. In the fire service, both formal and informal cultures shape people’s experiences—whether they thrive or whether they leave. So, we set up Culture on Fire as a way to highlight what is happening and seek to help with change.

Our first focus is the fire and rescue sector, but the fire service is not unique. The patterns, the harms, and the solutions stretch into many workplaces. We are here to spark change, because this isn’t just about diversity. It’s about the future of the job and the wellbeing of everyone who shows up to serve.