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NAME: Ursula Trow OCCUPATION: Firefighter BIO: I am 26 years old, the second youngest female firefighter in my brigade. I joined the fire service when I was 24 years old. I joined the fire service when a male friend who was a retained firefighter joked that a woman would not make it in the "fire world", so I applied just to show him a thing or two. I have never looked back since that day, I love the job. I started out as a retained firefighter for Oxfordshire Fire Brigade, England in a little town called Banbury. Banbury Fire Station is manned by 1 Whole time appliance and 1 Retained Pump/appliance. I was their first female firefighter and the first foreigner, double trouble, but we worked round that. Firefighting taught me a lot and really changed my life. Besides getting the adrenaline pumping, it gave me direction in my life. I was fortunate to attend the first woman's national conference for firefighter's in 1996, this got me motivated to fight for women's issues in my brigade. I also did a number of courses in England such as Advanced Vehicle Extrication, which I really enjoyed as it was a great challenge! I also did an Advanced B.A. Course and a First Aid Course. I stayed with the Oxfordshire Fire Service for 16 months before transferring back to my home country, Cape Town in South Africa. Back in South Africa things were very different. In my brigade there are only 8 women. I have been with the Cape Town Fire and Rescue Brigade for 11 months and am still enjoying it very much. I am planning to get my Brigade Drivers License soon so that I can become a pump operator. Recently, I attended the 5th World Firefighters Games which were held in Durban, South Africa. It was a wonderful experience, just a pity the women were so few. I managed to win a bronze metal for swimming and have been chosen to go to the next games in Paris in 2000. I will be entering the swimming and vehicle extrication competitions and maybe the Toughest Firefighter Alive competition, it's hard work but very rewarding to finish. I am looking forward to my career in the fire service. I would love to hear from other female firefighters, so if you would like to write, my address is: Ursula Trow PO BOX 245 Plumstead 7800 South Africa