Women will have an opportunity to don protective clothing and try their hand at practical firefighting activities to get a feel for life as a firey.
CFA is encouraging women, who may be considering a career as a CFA firefighter, to attend the session at 10am-1pm on 9 May at the CFA fire training ground at Bangholme in Melbourne’s south east.
CFA Chief Officer Euan Ferguson said the information session would be an ideal starting point for anyone thinking about a firefighting career.
“Some of CFA’s current female firefighters will talk about their experiences and what it’s like to be out on the job,” he said.
“By trying the practical activities – which are similar to some of the physical tests you’ll encounter as part of the recruitment process – you’ll get a sense of what you need to work on to meet the benchmark standards.”
Mr Ferguson said CFA was trying to raise the profile of career firefighting with fit, active women who were looking for something different.
“CFA is striving to increase the diversity of its workforce, particularly by encouraging more women as career firefighters,” he said.
“I hope that, over time, women are equally represented in our career firefighter workforce. But to do this, we need to attract and encourage women to apply and prepare for the CFA recruit course.
“It’s a challenging role with an intensive training period – but once you get through the benefits are fantastic.
“The work-life balance is excellent, not to mention the sense of satisfaction and reward you get from interacting with people from all walks of life.
“A big part of the role is supporting and mentoring volunteer members, providing fire education to communities as well as attending fires, rescues and hazardous materials incidents.”
Applicants do not need any emergency services experience but a full, manual drivers’ licence is required.
CFA employs more than 700 career firefighters who work alongside and support volunteer members at some Victoria’s busiest fire stations in outer Melbourne and regional centres.
To register for an information session, or find out more about firefighting as a career, visit cfa.vic.gov.au/career
Author: CFA Media