‘It’s not Barbie Land!’ The women fighting fires, and the patriarchy

“We were tasked to maintain a control line that was up against private property, which means you are working with landholders and private contractors. Everyone was a bit stressed because it’s their home, or a family member’s home,” she says.

“We were working 12-hour shifts then driving two hours back to base camp everyday while on a seven-day deployment sleeping in tents. I remember one evening arriving back at camp at 11pm and it was still 36 degrees. The oval was covered in the smoke. [Then] you have to get up and do it again the next day,” she says.

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Bronnie Mackintosh, whose organisation Girls on Fire offers disaster management and fire programs to teenagers, says that while the physicality of frontline jobs in emergency services can be a challenge for women, the reason women are underrepresented is far from physical.

“The biggest barrier is women not knowing that a career in the fire and emergency services is an option for them,” Mackintosh says. “There is a job in firefighting for women, but they’ve not always been exposed to it as an option. It’s only now we’re seeing this perception of the role change for our younger recruits.”

Mackintosh notes that while targeted recruitment programs can be controversial, they help improve women’s representation.

“We need to be intentional when we’re encouraging women to join the sector. This also supports women to rise into leadership roles, which helps us grow our talent pool for the future,” she says.

As someone who’s in that talent pool, Brown says the camaraderie is one of her favourite parts of working in the emergency management sector.

“One standout memory I have is being on the football oval in Laharum in western Victoria. The Country Women’s Association were there with cakes and tea, St Johns ambulance were there to wash our eyes out, and the local children had put up drawings on the walls to thank us,” she says.

“Those moments remind you of the best part of society.”