Driving gender inclusion

Girls on Fire
Inspirational. Humble. Influencer.

Firefighter Bronwyn (Bronnie) Ngaire Mackintosh has developed an innovative camp to empower at-risk young women and drive gender-inclusion in the emergency services.

Bronnie’s Girls on Fire camps introduce 30 local teenagers to the skills used by emergency services and give women volunteers in the services an opportunity to develop as team leaders.

The camps have been running since 2018 and are led by volunteers from Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Rural Fire Service, Airservices Australia and NSW National Parks and Wildlife.

The volunteers teach firefighting skills, wildfire behaviour, road crash rescue, first aid and how to wear breathing apparatus.

YMCA staff help with team building and personal development.

“The camp graduates become conduits for information and skills back to their communities. The hope is they become active in their communities and either volunteer or work with any of these services,” says Bronnie, a recipient of the Australian Fire Service Medal.

“The team leader roles give women the opportunity to lead and manage small teams, develop people, navigate interpersonal growth and conflict and be exposed to the broader emergency management landscape, says Bronnie, who has 17 years of experience in operational and other roles and is now the Manager for Inclusion and Diversity at Fire and Rescue NSW.

Westfield Local Heroes are nominated and voted for by their communities, with the three top finalists per Westfield centre each awarded a $10,000 grant for their affiliated organisation. Girls on Fire will use its grant to fund four additional camps.

For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here