Record Number of Women Become New South Wales Firefighters
All 24 recruits in the Australian department's most recent class received advanced training in firefighting, road crash rescue procedures, advanced first aid, community risk management, fire science, and hazardous materials response.
For the first time, half of the most recent graduating class of Fire & Rescue New South Wales are women, the Australian state's government announced recently. The uptick in participation by women followed changes to the agency's recruitment campaign in 2016, and the government welcomed 12 women and 12 men of Recruit Class 6/2016 into the ranks of FRNSW at a special ceremony at the State Training College in Alexandria in December.
In 2014, about 20 percent of applicants for 120 firefighting positions were submitted by women.
FRNSW Commissioner Greg Mullins, soon to retire from his post, welcomed the new recruits into what he called the "best job in the world" and said he was proud to see equal numbers of men and women graduate. "I've loved being a firefighter for the past 38 years, and I'm confident that each of them will uphold the high standards of integrity, courage, and professionalism expected of a FRNSW firefighter," he said.
"These recruits have had the opportunity to meet the outgoing commissioner today, which will certainly put them in good stead when joining their stations. Commissioner Mullins has guided the professional careers of many recruits since taking the top job in 2003," said David Elliott, minister for emergency services.
All of the recruits received advanced training in firefighting, road crash rescue procedures, advanced first aid, community risk management, fire science, and hazardous materials response.