A fire service is working on plans to recruit more staff from ethnic minorities and to advance more women to senior roles.

Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service says it wants to increase opportunities for women and for minority groups, to make the workforce more reflective of the communities it serves.

One Fire Brigades Union representative welcomed the move, saying it is part of a drive to move away from “Draconian” recruitment criteria and “institutional racism”.

The service says the “Safer Lives, Brighter Futures” exercise will also help form tighter bonds outside the service and boost safety by improving communications.

At the moment, women make up just over three per cent of the workforce, while just over one per cent is black, Asian or another ethnic minority. The service wants that figure to be more reflective of the seven per cent population ethnic minority ratio for Devon and Somerset, which is low compared to the national figure of just under 17 per cent.

The document, which is currently out to public consultation, reads: “We believe that diverse teams are the most effective, and create the best working environments. We want to ensure that we offer equality of opportunity in employment, and more closely reflect our communities in our workforce.”

Dave Chappell, Exeter-based fire safety officer for the Fire Brigades’ Union, supported the initiative. He said issues surrounding racism and sexism were much improved, but said: “There’s still a long way to go.”

He said: “At one stage, only white males of a certain age and size could join the service. There were height limits and even chest size restrictions which practically ruled out women, but that all changed about 20 years ago.

"I don’t subscribe to the view that 51 per cent of our workforce should be women. Because of the nature of the work it just doesn’t suit everyone, but we have to make sure that people don’t feel that the job is closed off to them because of their gender or ethnicity.”

In the past, the service has had to meet targets of the number of ethnic workers it employs, but they were abolished by the coalition Government. Previously the service was meeting its target, but the numbers were low to reflect the relatively small population numbers in Devon and Somerset.

Mr Chappell doubted the exercise would lead to any major recruitment of minority groups because of the “sad fact” that the service is currently looking to shed staff rather than recruit, because of the economic climate.

The equality exercise encompasses all minorities, including the deaf and disabled.

The document outlines plans to engage people from all minority groups through facilities such as welcome posters in a range of languages, and “flash cards” which would feature sign language phrases to be used by firefighters in emergencies.