"I started in the SES at Eden and we used to feed the fire fighters and I thought to myself 'I can do more than this' and so I decided to join the Rural Fire Service," Robyn Reynolds said.
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That was 21 years ago and earlier this month Robyn was elected captain of the Pambula Rural Fire Service.
She now makes history as the first female captain at Pambula but that's not something Robyn is interested in talking about; she is one of three active female members currently.
"I've got the best crew of blokes and girls behind me now, 18 active fire fighters and half as many operational support people. We've got eight now we know can roll out at any time," Robyn said.
Robyn has held many positions over the years including treasurer, secretary and senior deputy captain.
She is also well known throughout the Bega Valley RFS as a training officer with the loving nick name of "drill sergeant" her fellow fire fighters have said. Robyn is part of the Far South Coast training team which covers Eurobodalla as well as Bega Valley.
Training is important to her. She recalls joining the RFS and some three to six months later was at her first fire manning a hose.
"It was at Millingandi near the sub-station, it just sticks in my head. Things weren't the same as they are now," she said.
It's very dry and very volatile at the moment and people must let fire control know if they are going to do any burns.
- Robyn Reynolds, captain Pambula RFS
As a training officer she is very conscious of the need to keep fire fighters safe.
"Training is about the safety of the fire fighters and doing what we do safely."
With the current dry conditions, Robyn warned that people can't be complacent.
"It's very dry and very volatile at the moment and people must let fire control know if they are going to do any burns.
"Please register your burns," Robyn urged the community.
"Please make sure that even if you have just a small fire for cooking that it's really out," she added.
Concern about the conditions is prompting local RFS officers to look at possibly starting the fire permit season earlier than the usual date of September 1.
Although Pambula has a good number of volunteers, more are always welcome to come along to the training session on Tuesday evenings at 6pm at the RFS shed in Sir William McKell Drive, Pambula. Contact Bega Fire Control for further information.
