Esme helped us go viral!

A 19-second video tweeted via @WestMidsFire has gone viral – helping to prove to girls around the world that they can be firefighters.

We recorded the video on mobile phones after Hannah Summers tweeted that her young daughter thought only men could be firefighters.

In just three days it reached the Twitter accounts of 2.3m people and had been watched by more than 1.1m!

Some of our female firefighters sprung into action after hearing that four-year-old Esme said she wished she was a boy so she could be a ‘fireman’.

Their message – “We’re firefighters and we’re girls!” – has since been echoing around the globe.

Under the hashtag #FirefightingSexism, fire and rescue colleagues world-wide have joined the response.

WMFS Station Commander Marc Hudson said: “We wanted to let Esme know: of course you can be a firefighter! And it was a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of firefighting as a career for women.”

Last year we were ranked the country’s second most inclusive employer by the Inclusive Companies’ Awards.

“We’ve come a long way but we’re still determined to encourage more women and people from a mix of backgrounds into the fire and rescue service,” added Marc.

And, while it might be a few years too early for Esme to choose her own career, that didn’t stop her drawing this ‘thank you’ picture’ of herself… as a firefighter!

If you’re interested in joining us as a firefighter, please check out our careers pages.