Firefighting can be women's work

Conjure up an image of a firefighter and what's likely to come to mind? A picture of a burly fireman coming out of a high-rise building with someone slung over his shoulder as seen in that '90s fire-fest Backdraft?

Something with more of an Australian feel, perhaps - still the burly fireman but this time carrying someone away from a bushfire?

They're images that Barbara Lewis, director of human resources at the Country Fire Authority, says have led to many misconceptions about the job - particularly among females.

"Firefighting is one of those careers that hasn't really come up on the radar scope for most women," she says.

Ms Lewis says that while firefighters are typically thought of as someone who is large, the job is actually more about cardiovascular fitness and stamina than it is size.

The CFA is holding an information session next February with the aim of encouraging women to think about firefighting as a possible career. In March this year about 45 women turned up to a similar information day.

"The reason we're running the sessions is to actually get women out there aware of this opportunity . . . that there is this tremendous career available, which sits very comfortably with women and what women bring to the workforce," says Ms Lewis.

There are currently 11 female career firefighters working in the CFA and 3798 active female volunteers.

The CFA has employed 59 new career firefighters over the past two years. Recruited in groups of about 20, they spend 16 weeks on a training course at Fiskville, near Ballan, which covers all aspects of the job, from fire behaviour, equipment and responses to different types of fires through to legal and administrative matters.

After completion, recruits are then sent to one of the 28 "integrated stations" in the greater Melbourne area and across country Victoria where career firefighters work alongside some of the CFA's 58,000 volunteers.

Josey Sensi started working as a career firefighter about eight years ago - spending four years with the Metropolitan Fire Service in Adelaide before joining the CFA in Victoria - after having spent a couple of years as a volunteer firefighter.

While usually stationed at Hallam, where she is leading firefighter, the 28-year-old is finishing a 20-week secondment to Fiskville, where she has been working as an instructor.

Ms Sensi says she loves the constant mental and physical challenges of the job and being part of a team working in close proximity with other firefighters. Then there's the job satisfaction.

"There's nothing better than when you know that you've helped someone and you can see the look on their face."

She agrees that part of the problem in attracting women to career firefighting has been in getting the message out about the opportunities in the job. But she believes the nature of the work itself - "you get fairly dirty, you can't have long nails, you can't wear make-up and, with your skin, you're outside all day so you probably age a little bit ahead of time" - won't appeal to all women.

As well as fighting fires, Ms Sensi says her role involves a community education aspect, inspecting buildings and preventative work, maintenance of firefighting equipment and ongoing training.

There are also opportunities to move around within the organisation and follow interests - whether it be into specialisations such as rope rescue or into areas such as training, community education or management.

Ms Sensi says that whether a man or a woman, the key qualities of a good firefighter are always the same.

"You need to be determined, you need to be a good communicator and you need to be a quick thinker - all those kinds of qualities," she says.

Contact:
The Women and Career Firefighting information day (Vic) will be held on February 3 from 9am-1pm. Register your attendance on 03 9242 8249 or email recruitment@cfa.vic.gov.au

 

Published: 13 December 2006