More women and people from diverse backgrounds needed as fire fighters in Australia

The Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) has launched its first proactive recruitment campaign in a decade, targeting women and people from diverse backgrounds.

Bronnie Mackintosh Source: SBS Dinham

Do you know that currently less than 4% of Melbourne fire-fighters are women (MFB - 3.4%)? In New South Wales this figure is about 4.5 %, South Australia's Metropolitan Fire Service 4.4 %, Queensland's Fire and Emergency Services 4.4 % and in the Northern Territory's Fire and Rescue Service just 2%.

MFBs goal is to increase the brigade's professional female workforce to 5 per cent by 2020.