Racist firefighters to be sacked

| Friday, 18 March 2005 Source: The Times

FIREFIGHTERS who belong to the British National Party will be dismissed because brigade chiefs fear that they may discriminate racially in a life and death blaze.

Gloucestershire Fire Service is the first in the UK to say that it will ban BNP members from joining, and expel those proved to belong to the extreme-right political group.

The Fire Brigades Union, which supports the decision, states that racist firefighters are a danger to the public and their work colleagues.

Leroy Phillpotts, 42, of the the FBU, said: "If there was a fire in a black person's house, I don't think a firefighter who was a member of the BNP would try as hard to put it out as they would if it was a white person's house. It sounds extreme but then the BNP is an extreme party.

"If you don't want a particular type of person living in your area, what's the easiest way to stop them?" The ban is expected to be rolled out to every brigade in the country. Anyone suspected of belonging to the BNP will be questioned by brigade officials and dismissed if they are found to be a signed-up member.

It comes after the decision by the police to expel BNP members and the Prison Service's announcement that it would root out racist staff.

Gloucestershire Fire Service said: "Racial harassment and incitement to such acts goes beyond the acceptable parameters of behaviour in Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, and will not be tolerated."