The competition for the upcoming State Firefighter Championships is heating up, with members from District 9 and 27's Women's Networking Group's joining forces to hit the running track.
Having both formed in 2018, the dedicated Women's Networking Groups are made up of over 150 passionate members, with 100 in District 9 and 77 in District 27. This will be the first time they have representation at the Championships.
With the March weekend eagerly looming, Warragul Fire Brigade firefighter and Women's Network member Dani Watkins is excited about the highly anticipated occasion in Mooroopna, having never participated before.
"Like most of the South East region, we have a Women's Network in District 9 and 27. However, we decided to combine the two for the event because 27 is quite small," Dani said.
"A couple of us decided we would put together a running team because it looked like a bit of fun.
"We've got seven members at the moment, six are from District 9 and one is from District 27."
The team has enlisted the help of Pearcedale Fire Brigade to get up to speed with the specifics of the events, training once a week or once a fortnight in the lead up to the state event.
"It has been really good to train with Pearcedale. We were essentially starting from scratch with no prior knowledge of any of the activities," Dani said.
"We asked Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) for some help, and they pointed us in the direction of Pearcedale because they were the closest brigade to us who runs in rural events.
"We called them up and asked them if we could join them for a training session and they've been really accommodating since and have taught us so much."
Fellow network member and Tanjil firefighter Margaret (Maggs) Harrison was quick to put her hand up to represent her brigade at the Championships.
"When we met to discuss the State Firefighter Championships, I thought I may as well jump into the opportunity and give it a shot with the other women for the first time too," Maggs said.
"I've found training with Pearcedale to be enlightening. It's been great to watch how they work together and understand how they work as a team. They are a really friendly brigade."
Maggs said the development of the women's team was to not only bring brigades together in a new environment but to also continue empowering women.
The team will be put to the test in the Senior Urban and Senior Rural events held at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve on Saturday 23 March and Sunday 24 March.
