Tasmania fire volunteers open up over toxic culture claims

Like many unsung heroes, Cassey Emami wanted to make a difference to her local community and, in 2015, she joined the Tasmania Fire Service.

Within a couple of months of joining the George Town Fire Brigade, she said she became the subject of alleged vulgar remarks about her sexuality.

"I was quite sexualised as a person. I've always had a lot of sexual comments made towards me from multiple people," Ms Emami said.

"There were a lot of general comments made about me, comments about my breasts," she said.

Ms Emami described receiving explicit texts from a male coworker at the time, which included messages about wanting to perform sexual acts with her and other women.

"I just thought it was really weird behaviour ...

"I remember him saying to me 'If somebody ever pissed me off and said no to me, I'd kill them' and that was the time I thought s---, this is quite serious."

Ms Emami said she was concerned about his comments and behaviour but never thought it would amount to anything serious.

She was wrong.

In 2018, Cassey along with the same co-worker who sent her explicit texts, were called to attend a fire.

What Cassey alleges happened next would leave her diagnosed with complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and would lead her to be prescribed antidepressants and antipsychotics by a doctor.

"We got a call out to a fire," she said.

"We were all just sort of hanging around not doing a great deal and I was in a two-seater vehicle with this other person and everyone had left.

"I had my pyjamas on underneath, and my trousers were wet from being out in the water.

"I took them off in the vehicle, and he started to rip off my pyjamas ... I said 'no, please don't, I'm not interested, can we just leave?'.

Ms Emami said the alleged perpetrator drove up the road, got out the vehicle and tried to rip her clothes off.

She said she fought him off and tried to keep her clothes on, however, despite her greatest efforts, she could not deter him.

"He said 'I'm not leaving until I finish, until I orgasm'.

"I was in a complete panic ...

"He was deadset on having me one way or another.

"I don't know what he would have done, otherwise I would not like to imagine.

"He was very aggressive about it".

When she arrived back at the station Ms Emami said she was distraught and in shock.

"It was never really spoken about until I reported it."

Ms Emami said she had a meeting with a more senior person within the George Town Fire Brigade.

"We had an agreement that Laurel House (a sexual counselling service) would come down and do a big speech thing about sexual harassment and trauma and all the rest of it.

"Nothing ever happened there.

"He said that it'd be good if we (the alleged perpetrator and Ms Emami) weren't in the same vehicle together."

Ms Emami said despite the alleged indecent assault, she was still in the same vehicle with the alleged perpetrator when she went to attend fires.

"I felt very uneasy, I was always watching my back because I was never sure what was going to happen. I just felt very off, quite scared," she said.

She was also told to not be present at the station.

"He (the older man)) said I could call in but preferred I was not at training and didn't turn up to callouts."

Ms Emami said one day the more senior man said he would have a word with the alleged perpetrator.

She said one day the senior person had a "carry on" at her and said he was the one who had been traumatised and didn't want her back at the station.

"He made it all about himself. I spoke with guys in town and they said the only option was to move stations," she said, before adding: "A welfare officer lady ... basically advised me not to because I'd probably end up run out of town."

Disappointed with the result of an internal TFS investigation which took place, Ms Emami said she went to Tasmania Police to lodge a complaint.

She said she was told it was a TFS matter and they would not look into the issue.

It is understood the alleged perpetrator, who she said denied the allegations and told his lawyer that "nothing happened", left on his own terms. "I got a restraining order on him and that was that."

"I couldn't go to work. For a while I was suicidal. I couldn't be out in public because I just felt like people were judging me.

"I had people threaten me.

"I had no support, I was by myself the whole time, nobody stuck up for me.

"In the end I actually regretted reporting it because of the way I was treated.

"I just wish I had left it. I feel like I have not grieved or recovered.

"Once they got rid of me and cut me off, that was it. I hadn't heard anything from anyone," she said.

Michael Berger was part of the George Town Fire Brigade for two years. Like many others who joined the fire service, he also wanted to give back to the local community.

"I wanted to do something that made me feel like I was giving something," Mr Berger said.

"It gave me self-worth and made me useful as a human being. I always got my worth out of working. It makes me feel like I am doing well and good.

Mr Berger detailed an incident that happened in 2017 that he said damaged his self-esteem.

Looking to apologise for ringing a senior member within the George Town brigade when he was asleep, Mr Berger placed his hand on the man's head as a gesture of goodwill to apologise for waking him up.

The events that transpired next left him feeling humiliated.

"He turned around and grabbed me and threw me out the front of the fire station and told me not to come back until I learn some respect." Mr Berger.

"He grabbed me by the shirt, pulled me throughout the kitchen and into the hallway and told me to get the f---out. His last words were, "Don't come back unless you learn some f---ing respect".

"I stopped him, and said I was sorry for waking him up the other day. I went to go back in and he threw me back out.

"I didn't have a pass on me that night and I was locked out of the fire station, so I went home.

"Considering I was already on medication for depression already, it destroyed me, it made me feel hopeless.

Mr Berger said he reported the incident, but never found out the result of the investigation.

He said he later felt as though he was vilified by the brigade after the incident, and no one would go near him.

"We had mediation and sorted it out, but when it came to finding out what was happening, I was told I'm not allowed to know what the outcome is because it was private and between him and the fire service."

Due to the impact this incident had on his mental health, Mr Berger resigned from the TFS. He said the incident continued to have a significant impact on his mental health.

Belinda Taylor was involved with the Tasmania Fire Service for 20 years. She started her career in Bell Bay and worked there for 16 years before the amalgamation with the George Town Fire Brigade.

"Until we merged, George Town never had females, they had one or two here, but they never lasted," Ms Taylor said.

"You could feel the tension. If I was in charge of a fire, someone would come and take over from me, and the crew wouldn't listen to me."

"Once Cassey had what she said happened to her, I supported her and everyone just turned on me.

"They said it was my fault that Cassey was trying to push things along.

"I was just supporting the girl.

Ms Taylor said that because she supported Cassey, she was ostracised by members of the George Town brigade.

"It really got to me," she said.

"I put a complaint in, then it was me who had to go to counselling, even though I didn't do anything.

Ms Taylor said she heard numerous rumours about her during her time within the TFS.

"I heard that I tried to kill myself and that I tried to commit suicide.

"I heard that I tried to murder two of my workmates, that I was an alcoholic and an unnecessary risk on a fireground.

"It made me feel like I couldn't do my job. It made me really timid around them.

"Instead of doing my role, I would just give in and say, you do the fire then.

"I knew that I wasn't respected, even if there was someone that was there for a month, they were told not to listen to my orders.

She described the culture of the George Town brigade as "weird", and said she felt belittled and made to feel like a villain.

"They were going to hold an inquiry into how they investigate sexual assault," Ms Taylor said. "They had a perfect opportunity to learn from this, and they haven't done it,"

Gary Reynolds started with the George Town Fire Brigade as a teenager, and would go on to spend 30 years as a firefighter.

He said he had some memorable moments there, however, it had turned sour towards the end of his career.

"It seemed like a little boys' club," Mr Reynolds said.

"Little snickering comments were being made, and you would walk into a room and everyone would stop talking.

"A lot of them were vulgar towards females.

"Things were never ever said in front of the females, but more so behind closed doors."

Mr Reynolds said he believed that because he had supported Ms Emami and spoke up about wrongdoings by others, he was left isolated.

"I was mentally unstable down there ... it just got me to that point," he said.

"I believe there was a comment made on a training night, about an officer down there that was not committed, and by that time I have already done nearly 30 years' service.

Mr Reynolds believed the comment had referred to him and "Not one officer stood up for me".

He said as a result of the lack of communication, and the way he was treated, he felt worthless towards the end of his career.

"I am on antidepressants now and will probably remain on them for the rest of my life," Mr Reynolds said.

"I had feelings of sadness ... Even after I left, there was no counselling support or anything like that.

Former George Town councillor Chris Barraclough said he left the TFS a year and a half ago because he couldn't stand by and watch situations like those described here continue to happen.

He previously served in the air force in Britain, and has lived in Australia for two decades.

"When he moved to George Town seven years ago, he said he wanted to make a valuable contribution to the community," Mr Barraclough said.

When he joined, he said he felt as though his previous experiences had been viewed as disadvantageous.

"I find they're quite immature, a village mentality type of thing and George Town is like that," Mr Barraclough said.

"I try to rise above it and accept their views and plod along because at the end of the day, all I wanted to do was put fires out."

Disillusioned with the way Ms Emami and Mr Berger had been treated, he wanted to support his colleagues.

He said anybody who wanted to support them would end up becoming ostracised within the TFS.

"I thought it was bulls---. A lot of people felt that way and were reluctant to get involved."

Mr Barraclough said he found out about what allegedly happened to Ms Emami when the subject was brought up during a meeting.

"We were told there had been a sexual assault and we were told not to talk about it and that it was to stay within the TFS," Mr Barraclough claimed.

A spokesperson for the Tasmania Fire Service told The Examiner that they were aware of an allegation made by a female former volunteer in 2018 regarding a male volunteer's behaviour.

An investigation was launched into this matter, with the male volunteer in question being suspended pending an investigation into allegations that they had breached the volunteer code of conduct.

The male volunteer under investigation resigned in 2019.

Notwithstanding this, the then chief officer determined that a breach of the code of conduct had occurred and determined the following sanctions applied:

Termination of membership of the male volunteer (had they not resigned); and the individual being banned from entering the premises of the fire station or any other premises where the brigade is conducting training activities.

The male volunteer was advised that the sanctions would continue indefinitely unless by written consent of the chief officer.

The sanctions remain in place.

Notification of the determination and outcome was also provided to the female volunteer who had made the complaint.

"The female volunteer was not removed from George Town Fire Brigade," current chief officer Dermot Barry said.

"Options including the transfer to another neighbouring brigade was discussed to accommodate her reluctance to return to George Town Brigade and that has been facilitated

Mr Barry said all employees and volunteers of the Department of Police Fire and Emergency Management were offered access to free, confidential support services including specialist resources such as external psychological and well-being services.

"Engagement with wellbeing support occurred in this particular case," he said.

A Tasmania Police spokesperson told The Examiner the former female firefighter made a statement to police in 2019, "however she advised police she did not wish to proceed.

"All employees and volunteers of the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management are offered access to free, confidential support services including specialist resources including external psychological services through our Wellbeing Services. This occurred in this particular case.

"Tasmania Police encourages anyone who is a victim of any type or sexual assault to report to police so that the matter can be investigated.

"We would like to reassure any victims who are reluctant to come forward that we will provide them support and connect them with other relevant support services and organisations to provide them help," the spokesperson said.

Only six per cent of women have careers in the Tasmania Fire Service, while 20 percent of women are volunteers within the TFS.

Chief officer Dermot Barry, said the organisation was committed to diversifying its workforce within both the careers and volunteer firefighting ranks.

"While firefighting has traditionally been a vocation dominated by men - that is not the future, and we are doing more work to help women in the community see that firefighting is a career option for them," Mr Barry said.

"It is encouraging to see more women on fire crews playing a key role in emergency response."

Mr Barry said a project was underway to investigate ways to increase the number of women applying for a career firefighter position.

"This includes providing opportunities for women and people from other diverse backgrounds to meet firefighters at engagement sessions to learn about the role, engaging with women's sporting groups, and holding come-and-try days to allow people to try the physical testing in a supportive environment.

"There are also great examples of volunteer brigades encouraging diversity in their ranks, and there will be a strong focus on diversity in a volunteer sustainability strategy that is currently being drafted including initiatives such as targeted volunteer recruitment campaigns.

Mr Barry said the role of a firefighter had changed immensely over the last decade.

"No longer is it solely focused on putting fires out," he said. "The role is diverse, with a strong focus on safety which is reliant on teamwork - meaning one is never alone when completing a task.

"Volunteering opportunities also exist beyond frontline firefighting roles - in logistics, brigade management and administration, community engagement and brigade recruitment," he said.