INSPIRATIONAL AUSTRALIAN WOMEN
Kim Waldron
A shy girl, growing up, Kim stepped outside her comfort zone and the rewards followed. During the recent bushfires, Kim’s work with Fire + Rescue NSW, put her in good stead and earned the respect of many. To see her now and her confidence is a message to all. And Kim has recently been given a promotion within Fire + Rescue NSW. I was 19 when I moved from Esk to Mullumbimby, hoping to get a new job and to push myself out of my comfort zone. I did get a job in the local newsagency and I also started playing netball again and began training in Muay Thai at a Martial Arts gym in Byron Bay. Working at the newsagency opened a lot of doors for me. My boss encouraged me to try different things such as entering the local showgirl competition, which along with my physical training really helped build my confidence. My boss’s husband is a local on-call firefighter with Fire and Rescue NSW and when I heard they were recruiting I spoke to him about the job and felt like it was something I could do. I applied for the position and after going through the interview, medical and physical I got the job. I have gained experience on different types of jobs like hazmat situations, motor vehicle accidents, structure fires, bush fires, flood deployments and other related jobs. The training I have received has been amazing, I have done training on first aid, hazmat, different types of fire, pump operating, road crash rescue, land-based flood rescue and much more. My favourite part of the job is getting to drive the fire truck. The 2019/20 summer bush fires myself and the rest of my station went out on deployments daily for months. There was one day where it had been non-stop all day and I had a chance to breathe for a minute and I looked around and everywhere I looked I could see fire. It was a crazy time, but I feel extremely grateful I got the chance to be out there helping. Being a Firefighter at Mullumbimby 388 is something I am proud of, and I feel so lucky to be a part of such an amazing crew full of some of the best people I have ever met.
KIM WALDRON
