NSW Fire and Rescue, Bombala have welcomed four new recruits coming to their ranks including their first female fire fighters to come to the station in about 10 years.
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Three out of four of the new recruits were on hand at Saturday's Bombala Show - Tammie Anderson, Dylan Jones and Jade Crouch wearing their new uniforms and showing the public around the station truck.
Bombala NSW Fire & Rescue captain Terry Lomas was extremely proud of his new recruits saying the station was always actively recruiting and seeking interested people to join their ranks.
The new recruits started their application process in mid 2018 and have undergone eight months of training since then.
New recruit Jade Crouch said she had been looking for a bit of change and more variety in her career.
"I wanted to do a bit for the community and becoming a retained fire fighter was pretty exciting so I approached a couple of guys already in Bombala Fire & Rescue and they invited me up to the Bombala station and helped me put in my application," Ms Crouch said.
Bombala firefighter deputy captain, Malcolm Lavender said, "The application involves a 'meet and greet' with Bombala Station firefighters.
"There is a physical aptitude test for applicants along with a medical and and training through the process to phase 1 and 2 before you can become a fire fighter."
Fire fighter Jade Crouch said the training wasn't as challenging as she initially thought it would be.
"They made it super fun and easy and all the guys have been extremely supportive.
"One of the guys even came out and helped me in his spare time to prepare for the physical aptitude test.
"You use a lot of muscles you don't know that you have.
"Some of the exercises involved walking with a Jerry can full of water, simulating pulling a body along and there is a lot of crawling," she said.
Deputy captain Lavender said, "If you don't initially meet a physical attribute test we can work towards training and developing the skills needed."
"You might not be that far away from getting as fit as you need to be," he said.
Apart from joining one big happy family that look out for each other, Firefighter Crouch said she was looking forward to encouraging children with the possibility of them becoming a fire fighters.
"I really enjoyed the interaction with the children at the Bombala Show.
"It makes me feel good putting a smile on someones face," she said.
