SHE’S the only female to make this year’s Perth Firefighter Calendar, but Carina Faller is used to being surrounded by blokes in her male-dominated industry.

Not that it worries the 30-year-old, whose career took an extraordinary turn when she left a sales and marketing role for a hotel chain three years ago and signed up to battle blazes as a firefighter.

“They’re more like brothers to be honest,” the former German, who moved to WA 11 years ago, said.

“It’s a male-dominated environment, that’s for sure, but everyone I work with is really supportive.

“I wanted a completely different career, not an office job but something more meaningful that involved giving back to the community, being challenged and keeping fit. The camaraderie with other ‘firies’ is also a great part of the job.”

Ms Faller, the first female to have her own month — March — in the calendar, said she did weight training to have the strength to lift fire hoses and equipment, combined with boxing, kickboxing, running and boot camps to stay in shape.
Calendar have raised more than $1.1 million for burns research and the burns unit at Princess Margaret Hospital.

“When I came to Australia I was volunteering at Princess Margaret Hospital and I saw a lot of kids suffer from all sorts of different illnesses. I found that to be tough on the kids and their families, so when I found out about the calendar and what it was all about I thought, ‘Let’s raise some more funds and help out in some way’,” Ms Faller, who is based at Belmont fire station, said.

While she’s used to battling infernos, she admitted to nerves before the calendar photo shoot.

“I was slightly nervous to get my shirt off in front of everyone there but as soon as we got into it, it was really good fun. I’m flattered,” she said.

A sold-out launch was held at The Camfield last night, while the calendar will go on sale from tomorrow at www.perthfirefighters.com and will be sold in suburban shopping centres in the lead-up to Christmas for $15.