By Kath Gannaway
Melbourne Water’s female fire fighters made the Mail’s front page in January as the fire season moved into the new year.
Along with visiting American helicopter pilot Jennifer Bartley, the women Monique Williams, Teagan Morris, Lydia Wilson and Evelyn Wilson, all from Healesville, were among the eight casual female fire fighters wearing the distinctive green uniform of Melbourne Water’s fire fighting crews involved in fire preparation and suppression work in the catchments.
Jennifer, 30, an experienced water-bombing pilot from Ruidoso, New Mexico, arrived in the Yarra Valley in December armed with a strong record of fighting major wildfires from the skies in the US and looking forward to the challenge of aerial fire fighting in another country.
She told the Mail she was lucky to get into the industry when she was relatively young, and to have been given the opportunity at around 22 years of age to get into aerial fire fighting.
Melbourne Water Executive General Manager, Service Delivery, Charmaine Quick, said the addition of the outstanding American pilot was providing benefits for the rest of the team and a wonderful demonstration of the diverse roles available for women at Melbourne Water.
“It’s extremely encouraging that we are seeing an increase in the number of female applicants for both full time and seasonal fire fighting roles,” Ms Quick said.
For Monique, Teagan, Lydia and Evelyn a love of the outdoors was a common thread when we asked what attracted them to a job which is traditionally male dominated.
“I’ve always been an outdoors sort of person and a uni degree in outdoor education sent me this way too,” Monique said.
For Teagan it was the technical side of the work that appealed. “It is about being outdoors, but when you get to a fire you have to think about what you’re doing,” she said.
They agreed that fire fighting is not for everyone, but urged any women who feel it could be a good fit to give it a go.
“If it’s something you really want to try, I would definitely encourage them to give it a go,” Monique said.
On the ground, or in the air, Ms Quick said Melbourne Water’s fire fighters, including an increasing number of women, perform a vitally important job in safeguarding Melbourne’s water supplies and take great pride in their work.
