More and more fire and rescue services within the Nordic countries need to recruit part time and volunteer firefighters and respond to an increasing diverse population. However, the fire and rescue service is still a primarily male dominated place of work, with very few women or ethnic minorities represented.

To respond to the above-mentioned challenges, we wanted to offer the first Nordic conference on how to promote gender equality, diversity and social inclusion within the fire and rescue service to create a sustainable recruitment base and diverse workforce, which corresponds to, and reflects, the local community demands.

The conference took place in Malmö, Sweden, in November 2018.