WOBO thanks James Moore, IFSEC GLOBAL for the link to the interview with Amy Dowie.
Amy Dowie, an award-winning fire safety engineer at Warringtonfire Australia, has cut a unique pathway so far in fire safety engineering, a vocation which many may not even realise exists. She explains why she became involved in the industry and how she has gone on to coordinate and manage a range of projects and developments across Australia.
Now working on her Masters in Fire Protection Engineering, Amy also talks about some of her personal struggles during her early days as a woman in a sector overrepresented by men, the obstacles in bringing young female engineers into fire safety, and tells us about her next chapter in motherhood.
IFSEC Global (IG): Hi Amy, how did fire safety engineering materialise as a career for you?
Amy Dowie (AD): Maths and science have always interested me – once, my mother gave me some science books as an Easter present and I was over the moon! As I was growing up and going through high school, engineering naturally appealed to me, and that led me to doing my bachelor’s degree at the Australian National University, where I majored in electrical and biomedical engineering.
My first involvement in the construction industry was through a part-time job I had at university. During my studies, there was a lot of construction happening on campus, so I helped represent students with disabilities and communicated their needs and concerns regarding access to and around the buildings.
It was towards the end of my undergraduate degree that I moved into the fire protection industry After seeing an advertisement for Warrington fire, the company I now work for, I thought it sounded quite exciting and so began working for the company part-time. Quickly after that, I made the decision to stay on and pursue a career as a graduate fire safety engineer. Read more…