Women in Rescue (WIR) is a training event that is designed to provide women with the opportunity to get hands-on with equipment, build on rescue skills, and have fun in a safe and supportive environment.

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Historically, training and the use of the tools within the emergency services space has been male dominated, and hasn’t always taken into
consideration the specific needs of female members.

WIR is designed to help modify training techniques to suit all members with varying strengths and capabilities, and to empower women
to showcase their skills in contributing to the safety of our communities.

The objectives of WIR are:

  • To increase operational capacity with rescue tools through ‘hands on tools’ time.

  • To share, explore and develop adaptive techniques of tool use that best suits a range of individuals, for trainers and members to take back to their units.

  • To create a challenging, positive and collaborative learning environment during the training day.

  • To expand the leadership capacity and networking opportunities of women in emergency services, and celebrate women in the rescue space.

 

Women in Rescue from Victoria State Emergency Service on Vimeo.

Women in Rescue in 2026

On Saturday 21 March 2026, over 300 women and gender-diverse members from VICSES and our partner agencies joined together across seven Women in Rescue events held statewide.

Participants took part in a range of practical, hands‑on rescue activities, including:

  • Safe Working at Heights

  • Flood scenarios

  • Storm response

  • Road Crash Rescue

  • Land search 

This year’s events showcased strong collaboration in our sector, with participation from multiple agencies including:

  • Country Fire Authority 

  • Rescue Dogs Australia 

  • Ambulance Victoria 

  • Victoria Police 

We'd like to give a huge thank you to everyone involved in planning and coordinating this event. See you next year!