RHYS Green is a 17-year-old Worrigee youth who has gone from high school student to highly qualified rural fire fighter in less than a year.
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Through a program known as the Shoalhaven Youth Volunteering Initiative, Rhys is one very large step closer to reaching his career dream of joining the NSW Fire Brigade.
The program has trained hundreds of Shoalhaven youth with local service agencies and many have gone on to become full time members of the RFS, SES and Surf Life Saving organisations.
Rhys is one of the shining lights of the project.
In September last year when his school offered the program, he put up his hand for a week’s training at the RFS.
Since then he has gained his bush fire fighter qualifications and most recently passed his breathing apparatus exam.
Rhys is now a fully fledged member of the Greenwell Point Rural Fire Service.
“I’m one of the youngest members in the brigade,” Rhys said.
“When the chance to gain my breathing apparatus qualification came up I thought it would be a good way for me to see if I liked it.
“In the test we had 60 seconds to get into the gear. When you don’t know the gear, that’s pretty hard.
“It got the adrenalin pumping. It was more fun than it was stressful though.”
Rhys was at the Joyce Mayne fire earlier this year, and while he wasn’t qualified to use breathing apparatus at that stage, he said the experience was a massive learning curve.
“When I signed up I said to my mum that I didn’t know how far I would go, but would just see what happened.
“I had no idea it would go this far.
“I honestly think this whole program is great. I think they should keep it going.
“A lot of the boys who didn’t join also said they gained a lot from it,” he said.
