Talking about why he joined, Stuart said: “Being a white, straight man, I’ve never had to deal with physical or mental harm because of my gender or sexual DNA.
But when you join the fire service, you’re driven by a duty to help cure the ills of what causes inequalities in society.“We don’t have magic wands but we’re a motivated workforce with the ability to identify danger, risk or harm and we’re armed with the power to take steps to help alleviate those things.”In his spare time, Stuart work closely with an LGBT+ youth group in West Lothian called the Glitter Cannons, but says the pandemic has changed how they interact.He said: “The group is run by some absolutely wonderful people.