Women in the Service
Melissa Webb – Peer Support Officer
Melissa Webb – Peer Support Officer
My name is Melissa, and I am proud volunteer of the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) based in the South East Region. Growing up I was always that person who likes to help others and get to know other people. I became a volunteer firefighter in 2004 but soon realised that you don't only just support the community. You may need to support your peers within the organisation. This has led me to various roles within QFD including the role of Peer Support Officer (PSO) as part of the Fire and Emergency Services Support Network. Not every incident is nice or straight forward within QFD. Plus, life can also provide challenges at times. I think more women should volunteer as a PSO because they can gain new skills, challenge themselves, build confidence, and can share a different perspective on a range of topics. I have met several amazing women across QFD who do a variety of roles. I have had the opportunity to be a staff member within QFD as well as being a volunteer. It has helped me grow as a person both professionally and personally. Volunteering has given me a platform to develop leadership and organisational skills, as well as other skills I thought I could never have achieved or accomplished. There have been many memorable moments over the years. I have been very lucky to be part of many deployments to disaster areas, in operational and support roles, supporting not only the affected communities but also support QFD personnel from across the state who had been either affected or involved in the event in some way. The most memorable would be every time I provide peer support. A person puts trust in a PSO to talk confidentially about something that is concerning them. This takes courage.
Ruby Strauss – K9 Handler
Ruby Strauss – K9 Handler
My name is Ruby, and I am a volunteer canine handler with the AUS-1 Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). I work alongside my dog Bailey, who is an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) K9 trained to locate people trapped in disaster environments. I first joined the team in 2020 as a helper supporting training sessions, before commencing training to become a canine handler in 2023. Last year, Bailey and I successfully passed our certification assessment and are now a deployable team for AUS-1 DART. Volunteering with the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) K9 USAR team is incredibly rewarding and I’m fortunate to be part of a passionate group of canine handlers and helpers whose enthusiasm and camaraderie make the long training days worthwhile. Every training exercise is a step toward being ready for real-world deployments, and that sense of purpose keeps me committed. I think it is important to have the courage to pursue opportunities that interest and excite you. On our USAR K9 team, women currently outnumber men two-to-one, and it’s inspiring to see so many strong, adventurous women with extraordinary accomplishments on the team. Volunteering introduces you to incredible people and opens doors to opportunities you’d never encounter otherwise. The longer you volunteer, the more experiences you have and the more connections you make. We’ve got a great network for support and mentorship, with encouragement to advance our skills by challenging ourselves. As a USAR canine handler, you need to be able to communicate clearly and confidently with taskforce personnel in high-pressure disaster scenarios. Developing those skills, calm communication, confidence and assuredness has carried over into my professional and personal life. Volunteering has also taught me the value of continual learning and the mindset of growth and resilience has become part of how I approach challenges outside of USAR. The most memorable moment so far has been passing our certification assessment last year to officially qualify as a deployable. It was the culmination of years of hard work, countless training sessions, and the invaluable guidance and encouragement from our team. Reaching that milestone filled me with immense pride, not only in our partnership, but also in the dedication and perseverance it took to reach that point. It remains one of the proudest achievements of my volunteering journey.