A qualitative exploration of women firefighters' experience in the Western Australian Volunteer Bushfire Service

Recent events have shown how invaluable Australia's volunteer firefighters are to communities, for example, Black Saturday. Volunteer numbers appear to be declining nation-wide and a majority of volunteer fire services report under-representation of women in operational roles. To ascertain an understanding of experiences and issues faced by women in volunteer fire services, the aim of the current study was to explore female volunteer firefighters' experience, and how their experiences impact on their perceptions ofthemselves as firefighters. A qualitative research methodology was employed, which enabled investigation of issues and challenges related to the firefighting experience. A total of 12 women participated in semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. A total oftwo dominant themes and six sub-themes were identified: (1) positive experiences and outcomes (life meaning, facilitation of confidence, positive atmosphere, competence in getting the job done); (2) negative experiences and outcomes (negative behaviour towards women, 'few guy' syndrome). The findings have provided insight into the way in which women perceive themselves as firefighters, and the influences of past experiences which impacted on these perceptions. Furthermore, this study contributes towards the understanding of how to effectively engage and empower women, and also to the development of programs and strategies conducive to the enhancement of women in Australian volunteer-based fire agencies. Author: Cindy Branch-Smith Supervisor: Dr Julie Ann Pooley Submitted: October, 2009 Women in Firefighting 39 A Qualitative Exploration of Women Firefighters' Experiences in the Western Australian Volunteer Bushfire Service In Australia, volunteer fire brigades provide the only organised response to fires outside ofthe built-up areas of major cities or specialised areas such as national parks (Lyons, 2001). Nation-wide, communities rely on more than 220,000 volunteer firefighters (McLennan, 2008), and it is estimated that approximately 25,000 bushfire volunteers in approximately 750 brigades are currently serving in active roles across Western Australia (WA) (Association of Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades of Western Australia Incorporated, n.d.). Volunteers are considered an integral part of the fire services in W A due to the high degree of threat to communities because of vast bushland areas. Recent events have shown how invaluable Australia's volunteer firefighters are, for example, the events ofBlack Saturday. However, there is a relatively scarce amount of information about volunteer firefighters (Beatson & McLennan, 2005). With total volunteer firefighter numbers declining appreciably nation-wide due to complex economic and demographic changes within Australian society (McLennan & Birch, 2005), and most brigades reporting under-representation of women within operation roles (McLennen, 2004a), it should be of interest to bushfire brigades to attempt to maximise volunteer numbers by implementing procedures and strategies conducive to increasing the number of women in volunteer bushfire brigades. The proportion of women within volunteer bushfire services in Australia currently ranges from 12% to 24% (McLennan, 2004a). WA currently has the highest proportion of female volunteer firefighters in Australia, with 6389 registered volunteers, and 4078 of Women in Firefighting 40 those holding operational roles (Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, 2008). An operational firefighter's role is defined as the role of an active firefighter (as opposed to an auxiliary or supportive role), participating in activities such as firefighting, equipment and hydrant maintenance, and fire behaviour and suppression training (R. Wallington, personal communication, March 18, 2009). Given there are few studies about volunteer firefighters in Australia (e.g., McLennan, 2004a; McLennan & Birch, 2005; McLennan & Birch, 2008; McLennan & Birch, 2009; McLennan, Birch, Cowlishaw, & Hayes, 2009) and WA (Aitken, 2000; Preston, 1993), there are fewer studies about the experiences of women in Australian volunteer-based fire services (McLennan & Birch, 2006a, 2006b ), and the majority of volunteer firefighter research has been conducted by the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (Bush fire CRC) at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, with the aim of focusing on enhancing recruitment and retention through implementation of appropriate strategies and policies (e.g., McLennan, Birch, Beatson, & Cowlishaw, 2007). Currently, however, no fire service in Australia has a formally stated policy concerned specifically with the enhancement of female volunteer numbers (Beatson, 2005). The first study conducted by the Bushfire CRC served as a base-line for future evaluation of contributions by the Bushfire CRC's Volunteerism (D3) Project to enhancing recruitment and retention of volunteers by fire services (McLennan, 2004b). From researching qualitative and archival data, some concerns were noted that attitudes among male volunteers, especially in rural brigades, may be hostile towards women participating in firefighting activities. Preliminary findings accorded priority by the Women in Firefighting 41 Bushfire CRC included identifying barriers to greater participation by women in operational firefighting roles. Two more studies conducted by the Bushfire CRC investigated the experiences of female volunteers specifically, with the aim of providing direction for strategies which would assist in the recruitment and retention of women volunteers (McLennan & Birch, 2006a; 2006b). Women from the Australian Capital Territory Rural Fire Service (RFS) (n=31) and the South Australian Country Fire Service (CPS) (n=442) responded to a mail survey. Similar results were found across both studies with few exceptions. Women from both studies reported very positively on their training experiences, though opportunities for advancement and leadership were reported as barriers faced by approximately one quarter of women, and approximately one quarter of women also expressed they were told by at least one man in the brigade that women do not belong in the fire service and/or are not capable of the work. This final finding is a similar result found in a study by the Country Fire Authority (CPA) (1998) in Victoria. Fifty-one focus groups were conducted with approximately 800 CF A volunteers as part of a recruitment and development program which investigated challenges to recruitment in regional areas. As part ofthe study, it was found that for women volunteers, they expressed they felt that "in many cases, brigades were viewed as boys' clubs" (p. 7). Similar levels of discrimination were experienced by women from both studies (McLennan & Birch, 2006a; 2006b), with one third to one quarter ofwomen reporting derogation of suitability and restriction of opportunity for leadership as the main acts of discrimination. Levels of sexual harassment experienced by women from both studies Women in Firefighting 42 were also similar, with 16% of RFS and 15% of CF A participants reporting harassment of this nature. Main forms of sexual harassment were reported in both studies as offensive sexual innuendo, verbal abuse, unwanted sexual advances, and inappropriate touching. The only major difference between the two studies was the perception that women felt they had to act like one of the boys to fit in, with women from the RFS reporting this expression more than double that of the CFS. A possible explanation for this difference is the combination of the geographical locations of the RFS brigades, in that they are considered to be more rural than the CFS brigades, and also the proportion of females in the RFS (15%) is less than that ofthe CFS (22%). These research findings concur with McLennan, et al. (2007), who conducted surveys with 391 volunteer firefighters from various CFA regions across Victoria. Results indicated women within volunteer fire services experienced specific genderrelated challenges and issues. Such issues included intimidation at training and dissatisfaction with opportunities for leadership and advancement. This study argued there are both perceived and actual issues for women volunteer firefighters. However, as the above-mentioned studies were survey-based, little opportunity was given for women to elaborate about their experience and role as a volunteer firefighter. In reviewing the literature surrounding this sector it appears little research has been conducted which provides systematic accounts of the experiences of women in Australian volunteer-based fire services, and most of the research pertaining to their retention has been of a quantitative and cross-sectional nature, making it of limited value in understanding the potential impact of such experiences. If more is known about the experiences of women volunteer firefighters, and the impact such experiences have, then Women in Firefighting 43 brigade strategies can be modified to enhance the number of females within these roles. The aim of the current study was therefore to explore female volunteer firefighters' experiences of firefighting in a WA context. More specifically, the study focused on how their experiences as volunteers impacted on their perceptions of themselves as firefighters. Methodology Research Design and Paradigms An in-depth qualitative design was utilised in order to discover and understand the unique experiences of women volunteer firefighters. As there are few studies exploring women volunteer firefighters' experiences in the literature, a phenomenological study best lent itself to eliciting data reflecting women's experiences and the ways in which they construct perceptions of themselves in relation to firefighting. A phenomenological approach focuses on the lived experiences of people, and seeks to understand the nature of th