Three new firefighters have joined the ranks of Fire and Rescue NSW at Kingscliff ahead of the opening of the coastal town’s brand-new fire station, Tweed MP Geoff Provest has announced.
“This is exciting news for the Tweed and our firefighting community,” Mr Provest said.
“These recruits have just completed intensive training at the Emergency Services Academy in Sydney and are full of enthusiasm about protecting the Tweed.”
Mr Provest said the new recruits would soon be working from the new $5 million state-of-the-art Kingscliff Fire Station.
“Their training goes well beyond putting out flames. They also respond to chemical emergencies, car crashes and natural disasters, as we saw during the floods earlier this year,” Mr Provest said.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the 161 men and 66 women are a welcome boost to Fire and Rescue NSW.
“Fire and Rescue NSW is widely known as one of the most professional and well-respected emergency services organisations in the world, and I am confident these 227 new recruits will serve their local community with distinction,” Ms Cooke said.
Each of the new firefighters has spent up to 14 weeks learning their trade, studying various techniques to deal with different emergencies, how to apply first aid, search and rescue skills, heavy vehicle driving and HAZMAT response know-how.