International Women's Day 2024

I began working as a retained firefighter for the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service 2005. At the time, I was living in Appledore and was the only female firefighter at the station. As a working mother with three children, I also worked part-time at Appledore Community Primary School as a mealtime assistant and cookery teacher. My motivation for joining the fire service was to help my community and make a difference in people's lives. It was a challenging and varied role that helped me develop as an individual. I performed all the same tasks as my male colleagues, including going into burning buildings, extinguishing fires, extricating people from crashed vehicles, rescuing individuals and animals from water and rivers, performing CPR, and providing medical assistance when needed. After my two-year probationary period, I had completed all the same training courses as the men and became a fully competent firefighter.

In 2007, I was given the opportunity to obtain my HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) licence, which would allow me to drive the fire engines. Needless to say, I was excited about the prospect of driving a fire engine, so I immediately agreed to it. However, it took me two attempts to pass the test. Since then, I have been driving HGVs.

When I first started working in the fire service, I was tasked with conducting Home Fire Safety Visits. These visits involved fitting smoke alarms in people's homes, providing fire safety advice and creating fire escape plans for households. Soon after, the Group Manager approached me and asked if I would be interested in delivering fire safety talks to primary school children in North Devon. Since I had experience working with children, I agreed to take on the role. I enjoyed educating and passing on my knowledge to make our communities safer. As I continued to engage with more community-based groups, I made this a full-time job and had to resign from my position at Appledore School. However, I still went back to the school to deliver talks and participate in school fetes, so I could still engage with children. I delivered fire safety advice to various community groups, such as the Women's Institute, Young Carers Group, Junior Life Skills, Youth Clubs, Cubs, and Scouts. Additionally, I was responsible for delivering road safety programmes, which took me to colleges and other educational institutions.

In 2018, I became the Lead Education Advocate for the fire service, organising community engagement programs and delegating tasks to my team.

During the COVID-19 outbreak and the first lockdown, I volunteered as an ambulance driver for the South Western Ambulance Service. Since all my community-based roles had come to a stop due to the lockdown, I wanted to help our communities through these unprecedented times. I underwent training to use the basic equipment on the ambulance and worked on a 4 on 4 off shift, stationed in Bideford, Barnstaple, and Taunton. I worked with the ambulance service for around eight months, after which my secondment ended. 

I then signed up with a local agency to help with the shortage of HGV drivers. I also took an online CPC course to gain my 35 hours to allow me to drive HGVs on the roads, even though it was not a requirement for an ambulance or fire engine driver. Soon after, I got a call for a HGV driver/loader for a week's work at Torridge District council driving the recycling trucks. I was thrilled with the opportunity and enjoyed working with a diverse group of people, learning new skills, including the onboard computers and driving different vehicles. I was very active in this role, jumping in and out of the recycling trucks and loading recycling. This one-week job led to further work, and after only two months on the agency working for TDC, I was offered a full-time position. 

Initially, I was a relief driver for Torridge for around six months until I obtained my own rounds. I loved building relationships with customers on my rounds and working with a regular crew. Even though I did not mind being a relief driver because it was an excellent opportunity to work and get to know my colleagues, I was offered the opportunity to apply for the Torridge District Council Waste Management Supervisor role in October 2023. I was fortunate to gain the position and learn a whole new range of skills. I was surprised to see how many of my fire fighting/advocate skills blended well into my new role. 

As a Waste Management Supervisor, I am responsible for a variety of jobs, including timesheets, booking annual leave for colleagues, interviews, abandoned vehicles, missed collections, crew welfare, ensuring rounds are completed, and more. Just like the fire service and its shouts when they come in, no two shouts are the same, and it's the same with my supervisor role. Every day is different, and it offers fresh new challenges. I have also begun to undertake school visits again, teaching the younger members of our community the importance of recycling and keeping our environment clean and tidy. 

My managers have asked me to undertake local events in Torridge that the Waste and Recycling department would be involved in, knowing the skills I had previously in my Fire Service role. I am delighted to be back doing what I do best, but with new challenges. I feel privileged to have been given these opportunities in my life that have led me to where I am now.