After a few years as a ranger with Parks Victoria, Lucy decided her next step was to become a firefighter.
“Every year, we supported the bushfire response,” she says of her time as a ranger.
“A colleague was going through the recruitment process to become a career firefighter, so I looked into it.
“I gave it a go and was lucky to get through.”
A decade into her firefighting career, Lucy absolutely loves her job and recommends it to anyone who’s interested.
“It’s a fantastic job,” she says.
“You meet so many great people doing it. You have to work hard to get in, but it’s so worth it.”
The mum of two – soon to be three – says that shift work suits her young family and offers a great work-life balance.
“I get to be home with the kids more than people working 9–5,” she says.
“When I disclosed my pregnancy to FRV’s Women’s Support Unit, they helped me find a meaningful day-work role.”
Lucy encourages women who are looking for opportunities to serve the community, stay active and develop professionally to apply to become a firefighter, saying that steps like study and interview preparation can make all the difference.
After achieving the incredible milestones she set for herself as a shearer, Emily Barker decided her next step was to become a career firefighter.
Emily’s been a jillaroo on the other side of the world and started her own shearing business, but these days she wouldn’t trade firefighting for anything.
“I’m beyond grateful for the situation that I find myself in daily,” says Emily.
She says there’s a kind of longevity, growth and stability in an operational career with FRV that she could only dream of as a shearer.
“I've never met a firefighter who isn’t a long-termer or planning on staying in the job for the long term,” she says.
Three years into her career at FRV, and Emily’s still excited by the range of opportunities FRV offers.
“There are so many different avenues that you can take with FRV – that was one of the most appealing factors of becoming a firefighter,” she says.
“My best friends are in the emergency services. They asked me, ‘Have you ever thought about being a firefighter? You get to work in a team, every day is different, you’re not tied to a desk, and you still get to get out and about in the community.’ I said, ‘Sign me up!’”
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