Female bathrooms, change rooms for firefighters at Merrylands, The Entrance, Singleton

Fire stations are finally catching up with the times and sharing in $50m allocated towards supporting women working on the frontline. Find out what’s planned.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean and Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke meet firefighters at Merrylands fire station.

Merrylands fire station – the busiest in NSW – will be the first to undergo an overhaul of facilities to support female firefighters with their own showers and change rooms.

The $50m would go towards replacing the makeshift, poky change rooms that firefighters such as Lee Bennett and Vita Simon use in the 97-year-old Merrylands Rd station.

The state government will also prioritise upgrading stations at The Entrance, Singleton, Thredbo, Coledale, Cooma and Merewether in an effort to modernise facilities where a growing contingent of women work.

NSW Commissioner Paul Baxter said Merrylands was a “beautiful station” in the “perfect location”, but was not fit for purpose since it was constructed in 1926.

“It was built in a time when women weren’t even part of fire and rescue services across Australia and across the world,’’ he said.

Merrylands firefighters Vita Simon and Lee Bennett are part of a growing number of women bolstering Fire and Rescue NSW.

He said the organisation was improving its diversity, which saw women make up 10 per cent of permanent firefighters and 13 per cent of on-call firefighters, but that meant practical challenges.

“The problem is we haven’t got suitable facilities for gender separation and for basic privacy, so these improvements will benefit all of our firefighters because it will modernise those facilities to the degree that people expect to find in a workplace today,’’ he said.

There is no quota of female firefighters, but Mr Baxter said having more women helped connect and build trust in communities such as Merrylands.

Lee Bennett said she responded to a woman who was injured and felt more comfortable being treated by a female firefighter.

She decided to take up the profession after seeing her husband Cameron on the job. She met the crew at Merrylands and has felt welcome since joining 12 months ago with Vita Simon, a personal trainer who co-owns a gym at Wetherill Park.

“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved,’’ she said.

“One hundred per cent (women) should go for it. I think all females could do this job.’’

She was one of the few candidates who was successful after her first attempt to become a firefighter.

Merrylands fire station’s upgrade will be more female-friendly.

Up to 8000 applicants apply but only 150 gain a permanent role and 300 an on-call role.

“We are absolutely aghast every time we go to a recruitment round,’’ Mr Baxter said.

Many hopefuls apply 10 years in a row.

Asked by reporters about the firefighters’ union lobbying for 650 permanent firefighters over six years, Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said Fire and Rescue NSW had received record funding each year under the government, and this year it was close to $1bn.

Merrylands station captain Warren Jones said crews at the station responded to 1770 calls last year.

Mr Jones, who is also a compliance officer with Cumberland Council, expects to be busier, with 10,000 units planned in the area over the next 18 months.

He aims to combine his role on the council to boost the message about fire safety.

Upgrades to Merrylands station will begin in May, but the $50m project will be rolled out over 10 years and 12 more stations are expecting to be upgraded in the 2023-2024 financial year.