National Park Volunteer Fire Brigade completes first all-female crew call out

Left to right: National Park Volunteer Fire Brigade members Hania Aitken, Rosemarie Keen, Marilla Swift and Tina Dreisslein. Photo / Supplied

What was a routine call out for the National Park Volunteer Fire Brigade on Monday morning turned out to be a special achievement as it was the first time the brigade has responded to a job with an all-female crew.

The team was made up of chief fire officer Marilla Swift, Tina Dreisslein, Rosemarie Keen and Hania Aitken.

Swift was confirmed as chief two months ago, while Dreisslein, Keen, and Aitken completed their training to become firefighters last month.

Swift said the callout was the result of a commercial alarm sounding and didn't involve a fire.

"We did have to make entry to a locked room in order to ensure the alarm wasn't picking up fire.

"It was fairly straightforward but it was unusual that the girls had to use a crowbar to make entry to a locked room."

The National Park team is made up of around 12 people, with the team being split almost equally between men and women volunteers.

Swift said it's another achievement for the brigade.

"I think it would be quite rare and that's why we're so proud of it, in some brigades there are no women or maybe just one.

"These girls signed up because they saw some of the other women responding, and when you know someone who does that and they're a woman, it breaks down any walls or barriers that you think exist and normalises it."

The incident was the first time an all-female National Park Volunteer Fire Brigade crew attended a callout. Photo / Bevan Conley

The all-female crew call out was documented with a post on Facebook, however Swift said the brigade will gladly have men or women in the truck.

"We didn't really think about it until we were finished, so we thought we'd take a picture because you only get to have a first like that once.

"It will always be a momentous day in any brigade when they first turn out with a fully qualified operational, all female crew simply because this has been traditionally a male-dominated environment."

The brigade covers areas around the mountain and between Owhango and Raetihi, but also helps in other districts when needed.

"There used to be fire districts where there was a strict boundary and it's not really like that now," Swift said.

"If any of our neighbouring brigades have big jobs, which do happen quite often, we'll respond further afield."

The social media post put up to acknowledge the achievement has received hundreds of likes and dozens of comments supporting the crew.

Swift said it's not the first time an all-female crew has responded to a call out in New Zealand, but hoped it would inspire other women.

"Obviously guys and girls have different skill sets and they're all important, but normal woman can get out there and do the job," she said.

"Some of the tasks do require quite a lot of strength, that would be the area where obviously we are not as naturally strong as guys, but [women] put in the time and learn the techniques.

"Everybody has different strengths and weaknesses but we don't really look at that, we just teach people the tasks and recognise all the abilities and combine to make a team."