Edmonton’s fire chief says diversity is still below the national average

Edmonton’s fire chief says there’s been good progress on improving diversity on the front lines, but says there’s still a long way to go. A look at how the fire service is working to recruit more women and underrepresented groups.

“1,178 firefighters on the front line, and 18 are women,” said Joe Zatylny, Fire Chief of the Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.

It may seem like a small number when it comes to the number of women now part of EFRS, but it’s actually much higher than it has been in the past.

“We welcomed 53 new firefighters to our service and of these 53, five identified as women, and this has doubled the representation of women on the front lines, with the number having been doubled from 8 to 18,” explained Zatylny.

That works out to roughly 1.5 per cent, which is still well under the national average.

“The North American average is around 4 – 4.4 per cent of those that identify as women on the front lines, and in Edmonton, we are far less than that.  So we know we have a ways to go.”

It’s not just women who are underrepresented. In addition to hosting those who identify as women at ‘Camp Inspire’ — a program now four years in operation — the EFRS is also looking to inspire other underrepresented groups.

“In 2023 we partnered with Enoch Cree Nation to develop Camp Miyowatisiwin — a program that aims to inspire individuals from First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities to explore firefighting as a potential career path,” explained Zatylny.

The fire chief says in September, EFRS was recognized for its comprehensive equity, diversity, and inclusion work over the past few years by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs — receiving an award — and he says city council also approved capital funding to make fire halls more inclusive.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but the team here at Edmonton Fire Rescue Services has done some incredible work to date.”

The chief is proud of the steps taken so far but recognizes there are still more diverse boots to fill, to extinguish the past perceptions of a lack of inclusion.