That is the attitude of Country Fire Authority member Caitlin Roberts to the important work she does and the approach that has won the Wandong firefighter the Spirit of CFA Youth Award.
To her peers, Caitlin is a kind and hard-working volunteer who displays CFA values by always looking out for others and trying her best during her time as a CFA junior.
But to Caitlin herself, the recognition was unexpected.
“I am just doing what I can for CFA and the community. I don’t feel like I am going above and beyond,” she said.
Caitlin joined Wandong Fire Brigade juniors in 2016 when she was 11 and since then has achieved so much as a junior and now senior member.
She was first elected junior captain in 2018 and then, when re-elected, she stepped down to support an older member in the role who had not been captain before.
“After being a captain, I learnt to see things from someone else’s perspective,” she said.
“I had done my time and this was his last shot at being captain before becoming a senior member. I wanted him to have the same opportunity that I did in his final year as a junior.”
Caitlin has been recognised for embracing challenges and leadership with grace and competing with distinction as part of CFA Team Yankee at the Australian Fire Cadet Championships.
Her involvement with CFA has now gone well beyond being a junior.
“I’ve now completed my general firefighter training and I’m turning out as a senior member with CFA,” she said.
“My dad has been in CFA since being a junior and CFA has always been in my life. I went to the station with him and I was always interested in it.
“If the opportunity to be a lieutenant or captain comes up in the future I would take it, but I really want to do first-aid and low structure training first.”
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