The first of 99 new firefighters set to join ACT Fire & Rescue over the next five years start training today in Recruit College 44.
Twenty recruits have kickstarted the program as part of the first of two classes for 2021
“These are the first of 99 additional firefighters set to join ACT Fire & Rescue over the next five years as part of our ongoing commitment to front-line emergency services,” said Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman.
“These new recruits will bolster our firefighting ranks placed in stations right across the ACT,” he said.
“The ACT Government is committed to funding more highly trained and skilled emergency services personnel who I know go above and beyond to protect our community.”
ACT Emergency Services Agency Commissioner Georgeina Whelan said she was once again glad to see such a range of expertise our recruits are bringing to the agency.
“It’s great to see a class with such diverse backgrounds. We have members who have previous firefighting experience with Fire and Rescue NSW and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service through to experience in landscaping, health, accounting and defence, just to name a few,” Commissioner Whelan said.
“I am excited to see that among this group, we have four women who, if successful in recruit college, will join the 18 female firefighters we have across the territory.
“It is encouraging that we are seeing more and more women joining the ranks of what has historically been a male dominated industry.”
ACT Fire & Rescue A/g Chief Officer Glenn Brewer said one of our new female firefighting recruits brought with her previous firefighting experience and skills from Fire and Rescue NSW.
“It is always good to see members of other firefighting organisations come and join our ranks in the nation’s capital, bringing with them industry experience and a different perspective of the job,” A/g Chief Officer Brewer said.
“This class will go through 20 weeks of rigorous training with both theoretical and practical applications before their final assessments and graduation in June 2021.”
