In school, I watched my Dad who had been involved in Auxiliary Firefighting and I thought that was pretty cool, so I joined Auxiliaries also. I then joined the SES as a volunteer and stayed in all those positions for up to 7 years.

An opportunity came up to work for Rural Fire Service (RFS) as an Administration Officer for a 3-month contract. I took a leap of faith and left my 7-year job for a 3-month opportunity that turned into 2 years of admin work for RFS.

Along this journey, I created great working relationships and was able to get a great female mentor. After a couple of failed attempts, I was successful in getting the First Nations Bushfire Safety Officer role for Rural Fire Service Far Northern.

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Growing up in a small community in South Africa, I had a hunger for excitement and adventure. My parents wanted the best for us, so we embarked on a journey to Australia in 2010, seeking new opportunities.

Little did I know, my path would lead me to join the Rural Fire Service as a volunteer. This unexpected turn opened doors to a world where I get to engage in thrilling experiences while safeguarding my community.

Today, I find myself fortunate to partake in incredible activities and play a vital role in protecting the people around me. It’s an unexpected journey that has allowed me to blend my passions and serve a greater purpose.

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During this time I applied for a job with QAS (Queensland Ambulance) and was not successful. My dad suggested I apply to become a Firefighter. Initially I wasn’t interested but I applied as a backup plan. My application was successful and so I went on to do my fitness, physical aptitude and theory testing. 

While waiting for the call to become a Firefighter, I was working in Real Estate, then I found my way into working for a large insurance company where I progressed to become a manager for 10 advisors. I worked there for a couple of years when I received the call to get my paperwork ready and get prepared for intake to QFES. Once I had my interview I was accepted, and within a short period of time I was on a live-in recruit course to be a Firefighter and ‘the rest is history’. 

At the time of my intake there were less than 2% females in the Operational Fire Service. I have now been in the job for 8 years and during that time I have been married and now have 2 little girls who are 3 ½ and 1.

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All through school, and right up until I joined the fire service in 2016, I worked for a company called ABC Fun Rides, as a ‘carnie’ working all the show rides around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

After graduation, I went straight into the work force for EB Games, re-developing how they shipped their marketing materials around Australia and New Zealand. That was, until I found myself back at university, studying a pop music and performance degree. During this period I worked full time for Officeworks in the Print and Copy section, enjoying the differences of problem solving individual printing jobs for customers.

Eventually I found this to be less and less challenging and decided it was time for a huge change and applied for Defence Force, Police Force and QFES.

QFES came through first and in 6 years I have never once looked back. With my experience and training, I now have the opportunity to be the Acting Station Officer. This role involves being the person who makes the decision on how we put the fire out, or rescue those people and animals.

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