Bronwyn Brims is a woman of many talents; she’s a passionate student of conservation, a gifted professional artist, and the Bedfordale Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade’s first female lieutenant.
At just 23, Bronwyn is tasked with devising a plan of attack at an incident, leading crews out on the fireground, and managing resources for their emergency response.
“I trust the crew I take out with me and we just get on with it,” she said. “Our brigade has had quite a few younger members in leadership positions – our current captain was lieutenant at just 18.”
While Bronwyn juggles her firefighting, painting and university study commitments admirably, a couple of years ago the opportunity arose for Bronwyn to combine all three of her passions.
The brigade had just moved into their new digs on Admiral Rd, and many were struggling with the vast grey concrete expanses within the new station.
“The old station on the corner of Waterwheel Rd had more of a country feel – it was built by hand,” crew member Michael McCavanagh said.
The brigade decided they wanted to honour the memory of their fallen through a tribute mural on one of the bare concrete walls.
“I’d never done a mural before – I work with watercolours and gouache mostly. But I wanted to give it a shot, and the brigade was pretty convinced I’d be able to handle it,” Bronwyn said.
She’s always been the sort of person to step outside her comfort zone and try new things – that’s how she became a member of the brigade six years ago, fresh out of high school.
After some brainstorming with the crew, Bronwyn honed in on a design – a helmet representing each life member who has now passed, set against a silhouetted landscape in the blazing sunset.
“The helmets are an important symbol of who we are as firefighters,” she said.
“No matter what position you have in the brigade or what you do, everyone has a helmet.”
And throughout the bush scene are little nods to the brigade and local natural landmarks.
“I used trees in Bungendore Park for reference, and some of the grass trees I’ve spotted while doing prescribed burns,” she said.
“And there are plenty of black cockatoos because I love them and they’re iconic to this area.”
It was a huge task to cover such a large canvas, but the crew agrees that she’s done a terrific job.
“I really like it – I think she’s a good artist,” Michael McCavanagh said. “And it’s great to have something to remember our fallen.”
And she’s pretty proud of her own efforts to transform the new station into home.
“It feels more ours now,” she said.
Bronwyn said she’ll have plenty of time to enjoy her first ever mural – one day in the very distant future she might even have her own helmet on the wall.
“I plan to be a life member. I couldn’t imagine not being in the brigade,” she said.
