A total of 286 new firefighters will today join the ranks of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) at a graduation ceremony in western Sydney.
The new intake includes 61 permanent firefighters and 225 paid on-call firefighters, with graduates hailing from diverse backgrounds including skydiving, carpentry, architecture, teaching and defence.
The graduation will take place at the Emergency Services Academy at Orchard Hills.
The new recruits have spent up to 12 weeks learning to deal with fire emergencies, as well as training in search and rescue, first aid, heavy vehicle driving and dealing with hazardous materials (HAZMAT).
In the past year, FRNSW has responded to 140,000 emergency incidents, conducted more than 24,000 safety visits and provided fire safety education to more than 40,000 children.
NSW Premier Chris Minns congratulated the graduating recruits.
“It takes a special kind of person to put the safety of others ahead of their own and to help those in need,” Mr Minns said.
“Our recruits will now put their training into action, joining metropolitan and regional fire crews across the state.”
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib thanked the recruits for making the commitment to protect lives in communities across NSW.
“Having been trained to prepare for anything, I am certain these new recruits will have a positive impact on the people of NSW for many years to come,” Mr Dib said.
“It’s a special day for our newest recruits and their families, and I wish them all long and safe careers as NSW firefighters.”
Commissioner of FRNSW Jeremy Fewtrell said FRNSW is leading the way when it comes to equipping and training firefighters.
“While today’s graduates come from diverse backgrounds, they have one thing in common – a drive to protect the irreplaceable,” Mr Fewtrell said.
“From today they are part of an organisation where the safety and trust of the community is at the heart of everything we do.”
New firefighter Charly Rusconi, a former skydiving instructor with more than 9000 jumps under his belt, completed training in September and is now stationed at Silverwater Fire Station.
In his first months, Mr Rusconi and his crew responded to variety of incidents including structure fires, motor vehicle accidents and an animal rescue.
“The training we received was so interesting yet intense,” he said.
“Given my skydiving experience, I was comfortable with the ‘working at heights’ and ‘ropes’ components, but everything else was brand new.
“Since being stationed at Silverwater, I’ve completed 14 shifts and attended 10 structure fires.
“It’s unfortunate that often we come across people during times of distress, but I love that we can make their day a little better.
“Most of my crew are parents, so we love being able to engage with kids in the local community, whether that’s talking to them on the street or visiting schools for fire safety education sessions,” he said.
