Today I donned a helmet and boots, swapping my pen for a hose, as I spent the day as a female firefighter with ACT Fire and Rescue.

The "day in the life" experience follows an announcement of plans to attract more women to the job facing the heat on the frontline.

In the ACT, there are only six female firefighters compared to about 340 men.

But the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) said that needed to change and in the February 2016 recruitment drive, they are aiming for half their recruits to be women.

Under the watchful eye of existing fire and rescue staff, our nervous but excited group of four kitted-up in our personal protective gear — with some help required from the trained professionals.

Altogether the jacket, overalls, gloves, helmet and oxygen tank weigh an additional 14 kilograms.

We listened intently to the safety instructions regarding the day's itinerary, "wear masks and safety glasses", "follow all instructions" and "alert firefighters if we're having any difficulties".

In the Bronto - which can extend up to 44 metres in the air. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

But the warning that brown snakes had been recently sighted around the training facility seemed to unsettle the group more than the fire, smoke and heights which lay ahead.

First up we were required to undergo a vertigo test, which involved climbing an exposed six-storey staircase in high winds and when at the top, looking straight down to identify a shape on the ground.

Nervously I peered over the edge of the rail. "Triangle!" I yelled. "Passed," they said.

Next, we were given harnesses and introduced to the Bronto — ACT Fire and Rescue's only aerial appliance, which can extend up to 44 metres in height.

If you are scared of heights like I am, this is a daunting task.

But, as fortune had it, the strong winds meant we could not fully extend the Bronto, and I felt quite secure in my harness taking in the great view of the ESA training facility.

Entering a room filled with smoke to rescue a sandbag dummy. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

After the fun of the Bronto, our trainers stepped up the pace.

We would be entering a smoke-filled room tasked with retrieving a sandbag dummy which had been placed somewhere inside.

First we had to don masks — by far the most restrictive element of clothing as it not only felt quite claustrophobic, but also made it very difficult to communicate.

When the door opened to the smoke-filled room, you could not see your hands in front of your face.

I was led through the door, which was closed behind me and saw what looked like the thickest fog you have ever encountered.

You could use your hands and feet to navigate your way through the pitch-black house.

I was later told the walls within the hot house can be moved so training firefighters do not get used to the layout and while I only had to retrieve a 30 kilogram dummy, the requirement for training firefighters is 85 kilograms.

Using the jaws of life to free a Canberra Times journalist from a car. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

Then came the fun part — locking one of your media competitors inside a car and assuring them you would be very careful when using the jaws of life to free them.

The jaws themselves weigh 19 kilograms and require more than elbow grease to puncture a car door.

But, with more than a little heavy lifting on behalf of the professionals, the rear car door was lifted from its hinges and the Canberra Times journalist was free to write another day.

Then, finally, the moment I'd been waiting for — using the hose to fight a gas fire.

Having gone through just some of the tests female firefighters undertake, I'm not going to lie, it was hard.

But I got through it and it goes to show that both men and women can become firefighters.

But you can breathe a sigh of relief, I won't be saving you from a fire anytime soon.

I am sticking with my day job.