Toni Alexandrow
AVIATION RESCUE & FIREFIGHTER

"Growing up near Thredbo and attending small schools in tiny country towns may have given Toni Alexandrow the sense of comunity she so admires in the fire fighting industry.

The 36-year old is a leading firefighter with Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF), part of Airservices Australia - and the only woman in her crew at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport.

However a life in emergency services wasn't always on the cards.

Toni graduated from ACU's Canberra Campus in 1997 with a Bachelor of Education. While she enjoyed being in the classroom, she felt that her real passion lay elsewhere.

While teaching in Queanbeyan NSW, she began volunteering part-time with Jerrabomberra Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, and was hooked.

"I enjoyed every minute of my time at the station and was instantly drawn to the sense of comradeship that I felt with the other volunteers. We became like a family."

Seeing her dedication and enthusiasm, and her efforts in fighting the 2003 Canberra bushfires, Toni's crew leader suggested she take up fire fighting as a full-time profession.

Canberra Bushfires 2003

So she bumped up her training schedule, passed the grueling physical and aptitude exams, and in 2005 was accepted into Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport.

"There are 85 aviation rescue fire fighters at the airport, consisting of seven crews, " Toni said.

"I am the only woman in my crew but that's really just a reflection of the fact that fire fighting is a male-dominated profession. Being the only woman really has no impact on my role at all, and I don't actually think about it very much."

The crews work two 10-hour days, two 14-hour nights, followed by four days off.

"We're the first response team for any aviation incident, fire alarm or first-aid cases at the airport, so each shift is different," Toni said.

"That's why I love the job, it's always active and always varied. The shift work is nothing to complain about either. Having a four-day weekend means that I can go away, travel back to Canberra to visit friends and family, and achieve work-life balance that I may not have in other jobs."

Toni said a typical quiet day would consist of daily inspections on fire trucks, routine equipment checks and performing training drills.

"I'm also involved in training new recruits which is where the teacher in me really comes in handy," she said. "While serious emergenies are rare, call-outs tend to come in waves. We are either extremely busy or extremely quiet."

"But it's the perfect job for me, and I'll be sticking with it for as long as I can."
Local Copy of ACU Alumni. .

Links:

Airservices Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF)

 

YouTube: Recruitment at Airservices - Aviation Rescue Fire Fighter

https://youtu.be/sWocrwGLl9w

 

 

YouTube:Become an aviation rescue fire fighter
https://youtu.be/WxH1TDo2zgk

 

 

 

 Online: Recruitment Poster

Primary  Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical & Creative Thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

 

1. In one of the videos above on Recruitment, one of the firefighters was so impressed with Poster and line: "You Fit? You're It" that this message helped him sign up for this job.

2. It is now your task to create a catchy Poster recruiting students to think about becoming an Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighter using Canva

 

 

 

The Ethics of Fire Fighter Contamination: Community of Inquiry

 

Secondary

 

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical & Creative Thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Cooperative Learning Activity

 

 

 

1. Landline [Archived] reported on 2nd July 2016 of the contamination of an area around Williamtown [near Newcastle, NSW] as a result of fire fighters using foam retardants. 

 

 

 

"Their health, livelihoods and homes are at risk from possible cancer-causing chemicals used to fight fires at the Williamtown Royal Australian Air Force Base. Sean Murphy has this report on the impacts of a contamination nightmare which may be replicated around Australia in the coming years.

The source of the contamination is the Royal Australian Air Force Base at Williamtown, just a few kilometres from Fullerton Cove. It's home to Australia's Hornet fighter jets and dangerous chemicals, listed as probable causes of cancer, have been leaking from the base for years. Like airports, refineries and other facilities around Australia, firefighters at the base have been practising with foam retardants needed to control high-temperature fires. Since 2003, Defence has known the foam contained potentially cancer-causing chemicals - perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, commonly known as PFOS and PFOA, and that they may have been contaminating neighbouring properties." (Source: Landline)

 

In Summary:

Essentially, the foam retardants used at the airport, have leaked into nearby waterways of Port Stephens causing contamination of fish and prawns  as well as the ground water. This contamination - the extent of which is unknown - might extend to the livestock of properties nearby.

This particular case highlights the sensitivity of any ecological system and the responsibility that each of the parties involved

• Department of Defence;

• Fire Fighters;

• Environment Protection Agency;

• Scientists;

• Fishers and Farmers

to ensure that the ecology is balanced.

 

2. In groups of 5, review the thoughts of the people involved by selecting one perspective for each student:

Fishers and Farmers ABC News 15 October 2015	Residents
Scientists	Government Officials
Defence Officials

 

3. After reading, write up a list of questions that you would like to see answered.

 

In pairs, categorise the questions into the Question Quadrant:

 

 

 

The questions for thinking are the hardest to come up with – but that is what we are aiming for. 

As a class, come up with 4 - 10 questions in the "Questions for Thinking". They can be based around the Ethics of this situation.

 

Teacher:

 

4. Ask the students to think about grouping the questions - the ones that are the same or similar - together.

5. Start the discussion with the most asked question.

6. Make sure the students follow the rules of Philosophy in Schools:

• Only one person speaks at a time
• Pay attention to the person who is speaking
• Give other people a chance to speak
• Build upon other people's ideas
• No put-downs (Source: Phil Cam)

7. Discussion should involve students in critical, creative and caring thinking:

Critical	Creative	Caring
give reasons explore disagreement consider implications apply criteria weigh evidence	generate questions raise suggestions imagine alternatives formulate criteria make connections build on ideas	listen to other's points of view consider other's reasons explore disagreements considerately build on other's ideas explore other's opinions help to synthesise suggestions

 

Discuss the problem from the different perspectives. Can you walk in someone else's shoes? What does it feel like?

8. Provide Closure: Example: Get the students to reflect in their journals a time when they felt not listened to [similar to the Residents!].

9. Leave the questions on the board or copy them so that the other unanswered questions can be used in the next lessons.

 

 

Material sourced from
ACU Alum, Issue 1, Spring 2011 - not archived

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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