Colin Ferguson is taking on the challenge of being the new captain at a fire station in Tamworth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Mr Ferguson officially took on the role at Fire and Rescue NSW Station 452 in Carthage Street last week.
It's a welcome promotion for Mr Ferguson, who has spent six years working for fire and rescue in the city and previously held the position of deputy captain.
"I'm happy to be in the job and I'm looking forward to the challenges it will present," Mr Ferguson said.
"It just gives me a little more responsibility over the day to day running of the station and coordinating the team."
Read also:
Mr Ferguson will be in charge of a team of 22 retained firefighters as captain.
NSW has suffered through a horror fire season, but Mr Ferguson said his team rose to the challenge.
"It was a challenging period for us, as a station, we performed multiple roles which were new roles for a lot of us, everything from incident management team roles through to strike teams in some adverse conditions but it was a good challenge and as a team, we rose to it well," he said.
Most firefighters wear yellow helmets, but Mr Ferguson was presented with his symbolic red helmet last week.
Inspectors Peter Nugent and Brad Harrison and zone commander for the New England region Tom Cooper were on hand to mark the occasion.
There is a $4.8 million state-of-the-art fire station being built at a Ringers Road site in South Tamworth with upgraded and additional facilities, but it won't be used by firies from the 452.
"We are staying [at Carthage Street], the 452 retained are staying here, the 508 retained are going to move in with a permanence and the zone staff at the new station," Mr Ferguson said.
"It'll just be business as usual from here."
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
