Waverly fire brigade wahine leaders make history
The Waverley Volunteer Fire Brigade is the first brigade in Taranaki history to have two women leaders.
Sarah Hickford was recently appointed as the Chief Fire Officer, a role she took over from her father, Alan Hickford, who retired from active duty with the brigade after 53 years.
‘Dad was the one to present me my helmet, and I thought he was going to cry – he was that proud,’ Sarah says.
Hickford set her heart on being part of the fire brigade when she was five years old, joining at 16.
‘I always knew I was going to join,’ she says. ‘I like everything about it, being able to help people, and it’s also like having another family, another home.’
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Kylie James, who owns Dallisons, a haberdashery, clothing and flooring business on Waverley’s main street, and a cafe, Hindquarters, joined the brigade 18 months ago, and she loves it.
‘I’ve always wanted to join,’ she says. ‘I’ve been in plenty of community groups but you don’t feel like you’re giving back to the community like this. It is amazing.’
Going on a fire callout was a huge adrenaline rush at the start, but she has become used to it now.
‘I love the crew. You have to be quite a tight-knit group, and I like that we’re from all walks of life and every single person has got a unique thing about them.’
Both Sarah and Kylie say they often sense when the siren is about to go off.
‘Sometimes you wake up split seconds before it goes off,’ Sarah says.
‘It’s weird, like intuition – almost eerie,’ Kylie adds.
Ngā manaakitanga, Sarah and Kylie, and thanks for your ongoing service to Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
Deputy Fire Chief Officer Kylie James and Chief Fire Officer Sarah Hickford