On Friday, the Mandurah Mail joined our local heroes on a tour of the Mandurah Fire Station, getting an insight into the important job of a firefighter.
Mandurah Fire Station officer Paul Litterick said the job was never the same from one day to the next, which was something that drew him to the role in the first place.
"We're a jack of all trades. We can be expected to do pretty much anything," he said.
He said there were about 20 fire and rescue officers in Mandurah who work in a team of four, on an eight-day roster.
Read More:
The team works four shifts in total with 10-hour day shifts and 14-hour night shifts.
Mr Litterick said they attended emergencies including car crashes, chemical spills, a house fire or a sudden death.
"We do pretty much anything and everything that is not police and ambulance," he said.
If you are working hard, it's like doing a slow to medium run, non stop - that's similar to the physical exertion.
- Mandurah Station Officer Paul Litterick on fighting fires
"It's not unusual to be called to a suicide to cut someone down from a noose. Or to go to somebody who is about to jump off a building.
"Someone has put fuel all over themselves and is going to light themselves up, or someone has drug overdosed and we are called to assist them move the body."
Mr Litterick said requests for assistance included rescuing cats or birds from trees and cutting rings off fingers.
"Rings are always difficult because no matter what you do, you generate heat trying to get them off," he said.
"We get at least one a year and then sometimes you get three in a week. We will attend hospitals to, ahem, help remove things."
Mr Litterick said high-speed car crashes and boat fires were commonplace in Mandurah.
At a crash, the Jaws of Life are used to rescue trapped civilians and first aid is performed until paramedics arrive.
Mr Litterick said teams were rotated regularly when fighting fires.
"If you are working hard, it's like doing a slow to medium run, non stop - that's similar to the physical exertion," he said.
"You are also wearing heavy pants, boots and drag a hose around, with mental and emotional loading on top of that."
Mr Litterick said Mandurah was a "fringe station" meaning they were expected to travel a great distance to incidents.
"We don't have a station to our south, the nearest is Bunbury, so our area can be quite large," he said.
"Rockingham and Dwellingup are our closest fire stations.
"There are volunteers who canvass the areas in between but we are expected to turn out and assist them."
Mr Litterick said firefighters "couldn't cope" without volunteers.
"There is generally a core group that attend most incidents," he said.
"Each of the stations are allowed a membership of 25. We rely on them pretty heavily."
Mr Litterick said there were about 35 female firefighters out of more than 1000 in WA.
"It's not so much that it is not suited to women, they just might not be attracted to the job," he said.
"The brigade has run campaigns to make it more attractive to women."
Mandurah firefighter Dave Anderson, who graduated in November 2018, said he was attracted to the job because it was a respected career and a vital community service.
"If your house does start burning down, you want to have someone there straight away," he said.
"It's rewarding to know we are helping people."
When there are no emergencies, the team will service hydrants in the region, inspect buildings for safety and complete safety training.
"We have a lot we have to achieve," Mr Litterick said.