If your house is on fire best remember your pronouns
If your house is on fire best remember your pronouns
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Edible Roadkill

Original Poster:

2,153 posts

198 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/15620576/fir...

A SENIOR firefighter who quit after being disciplined for failing to stop his staff saying “fireman” has lost his unfair dismissal case.

Wokeism at its finest.


Mojooo

13,279 posts

201 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Edible Roadkill said:
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/15620576/fir...

A SENIOR firefighter who quit after being disciplined for failing to stop his staff saying fireman has lost his unfair dismissal case.

Wokeism at its finest.
My reading of it was that he was in a position of power and when the issue was brought to his attention he either did nothing or encouraged it. I suspect there were wider issues with sexism at play (see BCC article).

Evanivitch

25,560 posts

143 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Edible Roadkill said:
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/15620576/fir...

A SENIOR firefighter who quit after being disciplined for failing to stop his staff saying fireman has lost his unfair dismissal case.

Wokeism at its finest.
How long ago since racists and sexist bosses stopped being okay?

KAgantua

5,053 posts

152 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Scotland. Of course.

Antony Moxey

10,191 posts

240 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
But he wasn't dismissed.

KAgantua

5,053 posts

152 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
She sounds like a real pain in the arse

Randy Winkman

20,234 posts

210 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
It seems reasonable that the woman in question should be a bit miffed at people saying "fireman" when she is one of them. It can be a hard habit to change, but when it's actually one of your colleagues people should be reminded to at least make an effort.

It's a shame for the manager in question but it looks like he already had mental health problems.

Gareth79

8,651 posts

267 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Mojooo said:
Edible Roadkill said:
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/15620576/fir...

A SENIOR firefighter who quit after being disciplined for failing to stop his staff saying fireman has lost his unfair dismissal case.

Wokeism at its finest.
My reading of it was that he was in a position of power and when the issue was brought to his attention he either did nothing or encouraged it. I suspect there were wider issues with sexism at play (see BCC article).
Agreed. He's been a firefighter for 27 years, "fireman" stopped being used well before he started. Either he's doing it deliberately, or if we accept not then he's extraordinary thick to not learn to use "firefighter" instead.

QuartzDad

2,732 posts

143 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
KAgantua said:
Scotland. Of course.
I guess actually reading articles is also woke now.

Tam_Mullen

2,627 posts

193 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
KAgantua said:
Scotland. Of course.
Hahah, what a prick.


Why would he try for unfair dismissal when he wasn't dismissed over the issue?

Rivenink

4,134 posts

127 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
I wonder how many people here would be fine with being mis-gendered by a colleague on a daily basis, and wouldn't go all "woke" by insisting that colleague respects their gender.

Randy Winkman

20,234 posts

210 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Rivenink said:
I wonder how many people here would be fine with being mis-gendered by a colleague on a daily basis, and wouldn't go all "woke" by insisting that colleague respects their gender.
And in this case it's not even simply a gender/pronouns issue as in anyone's book she is female. As I say higher up, it can be a hard habit to break. I heard a female chair a couple of years ago refer to herself as "the chairman". But this was about the boss being asked to remind their staff to use the appropriate term which is entirely different.

MrBarry123

6,083 posts

142 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Good firefighter or not, he sounds like a right bell so a fair outcome.

XCP

17,578 posts

249 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Tam_Mullen said:
KAgantua said:
Scotland. Of course.
Hahah, what a prick.


Why would he try for unfair dismissal when he wasn't dismissed over the issue?
Constructive dismissal, The union paid so he has nothing to lose no doubt.

matchmaker

8,939 posts

221 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
QuartzDad said:
KAgantua said:
Scotland. Of course.
I guess actually reading articles is also woke now.
Yes, Avon, that well known area of Scotland rolleyes

Anyone got a spare atlas they can lend to KAgantua?


Edited by matchmaker on Thursday 27th November 17:28

butchstewie

62,919 posts

231 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
I wonder how many men on here would be absolutely fine with being referred to as if they were a woman all day long.

Try and resist the urge to be sarcastic about that and actually give it a bit of thought.

Shooter McGavin

8,549 posts

165 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
This is typical sensationalism to get people riled.

As I am reading it:

- like it or not, the accepted gender neutral term within the fire service these days is 'firefighter'
- this bloke was watch manager, male firefighters kept using the term 'fireman', probably to wind the 'firewoman' up
- she sued the fire service, trousered £52k compo
- as her manager he was reprimanded but not sacked for failing to manage his team on this issue
- he then resigned, claimed constructive dismissal, and quite rightly lost.

What an absolute chump, a massive amount of biting off his nose to spite his face.

Any sensible grown adult would have gathered the male members of his team together and said "looks fellas, I know this is woke mind virus nonsense, but the accepted term these days is 'firefighter'. I don't want to die on this hill, can you please just use it round the station at all times, but especially in the company of our lady firefighter. All good with that? Right, who fancies a pint?"

Then they'd probably still be working alongside each other as firepersons.




ATG

22,780 posts

293 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Firefighter even sounds cool. And it's a more accurate description of what they do than "fireman".

Calling someone a "chair" or a "postperson" sounds daft. I've never understood why calling someone an "actress" is a problem. Why get upset about actor and actress when we don't get upset by grandmother and grandfather? ... Oh, no, no, no, no,no, you entitled racist meat eater, you must call them "grandparent", said nobody.

TheInternet

5,115 posts

184 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Is there a pragmatic middle ground in going the 'male nurse' route? So it could be Female Fireman Sam, which is both respectful and unambiguous.

butchstewie

62,919 posts

231 months

Thursday 27th November 2025
quotequote all
Or, you know, just firefighter confused