May 07, 2025
Thanks to the Investing in Women Fund from the NSW Government, the first ever Vocational Pathways Program is taking place at Kemps Creek, Western Sydney. This eight-week program allows students to gain weekly exposure and learn exactly what it takes to have a rewarding fire and emergency career.
Fire and Rescue NSW firefighter, Indigenous advocate, and Girls on Fire’s Cultural Inclusion Advisor, Peter Jensen, headed straight from shift to share not only his experience of life inside fire and emergency, but also his own diverse career path and cultural skills with the eager students.
PJ talked about his transition from footy player to mechanic, via the juvenile justice system, youth work, and enjoying the last ten years of his career in Fire and Rescue NSW in Western Sydney. He talked about the importance of communication, empathy, patience, and how a team is made from an array of special skills that each individual in his team brings to emergency services with humour and honesty.
Not only is PJ a great leader, firefighter, and mentor, he’s also a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man who loves sharing his culture while busting some myths and misconceptions.
He highlighted the diversity of the 200+ Torres Strait Islands, the 500 Aboriginal nations, and the significance of land, water, sea, animals, songlines and stories to First Nations.
Using a yidaki (incorrectly labelled as a didgeridoo), PJ showed his musical abilities while also giving us a tutorial to remember on cultural burning via coconut husk, coral tree wood, and First Nations strong connection to fire and disaster management, and science.
National Parks and Wildlife always bring an extra special something to every class they teach and today was no exception. David and <name> brought a simulated village made from Hessian and other materials to show the importance of controlled burning and fire breaks in keeping people, property, places, and animals safe.
This hierarchy supports both long-term planning (like hazard reduction burns) and emergency response.
Before showing the science and practical nature of how the fire lines worked on their simulated village, they explained how lines and assets as well as hazards influence the choices made when a bushfire occurs.
· Lines: fire trails, containment lines, asset protection zones, and fire boundaries.
· Assets: mapped locations of things needing protection (homes, infrastructure, sensitive environments).
· Hazards: fuel loads, slope, wind direction, historical fire data, etc.
The simulation was set on fire to mirror a bushfire. Students were given jobs as fire lighters or as water bombing helicopters that worked to see how the lines helped keep people and places safe, the constraints when managing assets and hazards together.
Top tips from NPWS
Nikki from Community Engagement at the SES and her volunteers, <name> and <name> showed the girls how each structure can be kept safe during floodwater.
Choosing a structure on the site, girls put down plastic, talked through how to fill a sandbag properly, and learned the proper placement of sandbags to keep structures as safe as possible.
Before You Start
Placing Sandbags Around Your Home
1. Doorways and Garage Doors
2. Brick Vents, Weep Holes, or Air Vents
3. Drains and Toilets (Backflow Prevention)
4. Low-lying External Walls
Top Tips from the SES:
Girls on Fire participant-led feedback activity
As part of the program’s commitment to staying youth-led, Rebekah, the Business Operations Manager for Girls on Fire, ran a 20–30-minute group conversation with students to gather feedback in a fun and meaningful way. Students were given the chance to reflect on their experience, both by writing down their own thoughts and discussing as a group.
To help students express how the program made them feel, they also used mood stickers as a playful and visual way to show changes in confidence, feelings, and engagement throughout their time with Girls on Fire.
Rebekah reminded participants that they were in charge of the session—not the adults—emphasising that their voices matter most in developing new programs. This feedback, recorded with consent, will help improve future Girls on Fire camps and show the NSW Government the real-world impact of funding programs like this.
The goal? To ensure the program stays relevant, valuable, and led by the voices of the young people it’s made for.
The Kemps Creek VPP continues until May 23rd. We were also lucky enough to have James Patrick Photography come on the day to take photos and videos, so stay tuned for those as they roll out on the blog and social media!
Interested in how Girls on Fire can introduce students in your region to vocational careers in fire and emergency in a fun, interactive way?
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Girls on Fire is hiring! We're looking for facilitators, wellbeing officers, and admin support to join us in empowering young people through fire camps.
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Check out this awesome Girls on Fire Albury camp recap with thanks to Albury High School, The Border Mail, and Channel 7 Border News for sharing the story!
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.