Girls from the Central School senior years had an entertaining, and a bit wet due to leaky hoses, day being shown the basics of emergency management with a focus on using the towns fire truck and its equipment.
Run by ‘Girls on Fire Inc’. which was started by Bronnie McIntosh who, through a Churchill Scholarship, studied overseas programmes designed to increase female and diverse participation in emergency management, such as the local fire brigade.
Their motto “We believe that every young girl has a spark within,” is the basis for giving girls the opportunity to build their personal confidence and resilience and to change the way they view themselves and their place in their community.
The programme also offers the idea of emergency services as a career path. As well as corporate sponsors such as the National Australia Bank and various Government emergency management agencies, Monash University, as a research partner, measures the impact of the Girls Fire & Resilience Program across resilience, fire management participation, recruitment and community engagement.
As well as one day events Girls On Fire also run multi day camps that offer in-depth training involving event simulation from house fires to vehicle accidents.
Photos—
Top: Lulu demonstrating a useful skill in any setting, putting out a fire with a fire blanket
Centre: Willow has a crack at using a commercially available fire extinguisher
Bottom: Miranda, with help, handles the fire hose which delivers water from the town’s brigade.
Are you an adult in the Riverina exploring your employment and career options? Girls on Fire is offering a free, hands-on program in Wagga for adults to explore careers in fire, flood & emergency services. Open to all, hosted by SES Ashmont and supported by Workforce Australia. Find out more now.
Girls on Fire empowers young women through free regional training that builds confidence, jobs, and disaster resilience across Australia.
Are you 15 or 16, volunteering with your local fire service, and passionate about making a difference? This could be your chance to share your story with the world. Find out more now.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where we work and live. Girls on Fire pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.
