Cronulla resident Cheryl Steer has received the Australian Fire Service Medal AFSM in the King's birthday honours.
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Ms Steer is Assistant Commissioner Regional Operations with Fire and Rescue NSW, she is responsible for all firefighters and resources outside of the Greater Sydney Area.
When she started her career with Fire and Rescue as a recruit in 1996 it was unusual to see female firefighters.
Over her career of 28 years Cheryl has been stationed and busy fire stations in Sydney including Kogarah, Marrickville, Bankstown and was Station Officer for 10 years and spent 7 of those years at Cabramatta Fire Station.
Cheryl was the first female firefighter in FRNSW to achieve the rank of Inspector, Superintendent and Chief Superintendent and was the first woman internally to come through the FRNSW ranks to achieve the rank of Assistant Commissioner.
Her interest in firefighting started when she was eight-years old growing up in Sutherland when a fire broke out in the family Holden Kingswood. "Dad managed to put out most of the fire with a hose but when the firefighters turned up they were so calm and stoic, and the memory of that day stayed with me," she said.
"I spoke to my mother years later and said I was thinking of applying to become a firefighter. She encouraged me to apply and said it was better to apply and try the role and find out if I like it than to never give it a chance and always wonder at what might have been".
"I loved being a firefighter, working in a fire station and being on the fire truck, but I also love being a senior officer and the opportunities that provides to mentor and encourage other firefighters to strive for their career dream and come up through the ranks.
"the most rewarding thing about being the Station Officer at Cabramatta for seven years was the sense of connection with the multicultural community. As a firefighter you attend all manner of different fires, motor vehicle accidents and hazardous materials incidents. You also spend a lot of your day on prevention and education work, visiting pre-schools, talking to children about what to do in a fire "get down low and go, go, go", working with elder members of the community those from non-English speaking backgrounds to reinforce fire safety messages.
Assistant Commissioner Steer has also deployed interstate to the Victoria Morewell Mine fire in 2014, and overseas to the United States to help fight wildfires in Washington State in 2018. One of the most challenging times of her career was the 2109-2020 bushfire season. The season saw the largest commitment of resources across NSW for over 6 months.
She supports the development of female firefighters through her long-term involvement in the FRNSW Women's Inclusive Network (WIN). She is a board member on the FRNSW Relief and Welfare Fund and a Director on the board of the Museum of Fire at Penrith.
"To be a firefighter you need to have strong problem-solving skills and the ability to communicate effectively with people in their hour of need, you also need to be physically fit with a high degree of endurance." Assistant Commissioner Steer said.
"Firefighting is a fantastic career with so many opportunities. No day is ever the same, you need to be adaptable and prepared for anything, ready to respond to emergencies at any time.".
