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Hailey hailed as ‘new face of firefighting’
A 20-year-old University of the Sunshine Coast student with a love of learning both on and off campus is “the new face of firefighting” on the Coast.
Former Siena Catholic College student Hailey Szoke, who is in her second year of a Social Science degree at USC, is on the cover of the winter edition of Smoke Signals, the magazine of the Rural Fire Brigades Association Qld Inc.
Hailey has volunteered with her local Ilkley & Districts Rural Fire Brigade for a year, responding to call-outs including a flare-up at Sippy Downs and stack burn at Kunda Park.
She has deferred University for a semester after also gaining part-time work as an auxiliary at Buderim Fire Station. It’s a big step towards her goal of joining the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service permanently.
However, Hailey may be back at USC sooner than expected, joining the Buderim brigade on its regular inspections of the campus alarm systems.
“I’m now doing basic emergency skills training to become a qualified firefighter at incident responses,” said Hailey, who initially wanted to be a police officer.
Majoring in Sociology and Justice Studies at USC, she is inspired by both the quality of lecturers on campus and her firefighter mentors off campus.
“I enjoy learning and want it to be a lifelong process,” she said. “The life skills I’m learning at University I will carry with me forever.
“I want to make a physical difference and contribution to society. I want to help educate everyone so we don’t have as many lives lost or property damaged.”
Hailey trains regularly with Infinity Martial Arts and is working to get her chainsaw licence.
She was a volunteer representative at the Rural Fire Service Youth Summit in Brisbane.
She has no concerns about working in a traditionally male occupation. “Women complete the same level of requirements as men to join the service, including physical fitness,” she said.
— Julie Gatehouse