Angela was the only woman at rescue training. Here’s how she changed that

“I might not have the upper body strength as the men, but I just needed slightly different techniques to achieve the same outcome,” she said.

When Lane joined the SES, she had never tied a complex knot or picked up a chainsaw. In fact, she thought she was signing up to serve roadside revival tea and coffee.

Loading

But it wasn’t long until she had learnt specialised rescue techniques and helped her community on the front line, responding to storms, floods and road crashes.

“Women have always been involved in volunteering, but I suppose it’s only been more recently where we’ve been on the tools,” she said.

“The team is that much stronger because you have that diversity which not only represents the community but allows a core strength for the whole unit.”

Currently, women make up nearly 34 per cent (1689 out of 5002) of VICSES’s volunteer base. But the
organisation wants to increase that to reach near parity.

Interim VICSES chief executive Kate White said the skills learnt at Saturday’s training would boost the service’s overall capacity.

“Our female first responders are extraordinary, handling highly complex and challenging incidents,” she said.

The event follows a demanding 2024, where VICSES volunteers received a yearly total of 44,380 requests for assistance across the state on the back of a number of storms, flash floods and road rescues.