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For more than two decades, public historian Dr Shane Ewen has been exploring the culture of the UK fire and rescue service, how its history shapes the people, places and decisions that define it today. In this bonus episode of For Every Response, our Editor, Catherine Levin speaks to Shane about the value of looking back to understand the service as it is now.
Shane works closely with fire services, unions and community groups, using stories from the past to spark conversations about culture, behaviour and change. He studies both the physical heritage of the service, stations, appliances and equipment, and the less visible history held in people’s experiences and traditions. “History sharpens thinking and decision-making,” he says. “It helps us understand where the service has come from, and where it’s going.”
One of his latest projects focuses on the women who have served in fire and rescue, from the Second World War through to the first operational female firefighters in the 1980s. The research led to Trailblazing: Women Have Always Been Firefighters, a new play built from interviews, testimony and lived experience.
The work started at the Old Fire Station in Gipton, Leeds, a former station now run as a community hub by retired firefighters. After the pandemic, Shane and local arts charity Space2 set out to widen the stories shared there. Funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund helped them capture the perspectives of women who worked in and around the service during the 1980s and 1990s. Many talked about the challenges they faced, but also the pride and progress that followed.
The 40-minute production, performed by actor Jane Moreland, has toured community centres, schools and outdoor spaces across Leeds, bringing these stories to people who might not otherwise hear them. The project has also prompted new conversations within the firefighting community, giving retired firefighters and younger audiences a clearer sense of what women experienced as the service evolved.
Shane hopes the collected interviews and story maps will be archived for wider access and inspire other services to record similar histories. “These are stories about the hurdles women faced, the work they did, and how the service is still changing,” he says.
The themes resonate far beyond Yorkshire. The project highlights the barriers women have overcome in the fire service, the culture shifts still happening today and the value of capturing voices that might otherwise be lost.
You can listen to the full conversation below.
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