 Hi, my name is Nikki Lund and I'm the captain of the Yildon Fire Brigade. So I was voted in as captain of the Yildon Fire Brigade approximately nine years ago. I joined the Yildon Fire Brigade 17 and a half years ago and after being Lieutenant for four years I was voted in as captain. Being captain of the Yildon Fire Brigade is something that I'm very passionate about. I like to show strong leadership and guidance to all of the members throughout the brigade and together with the brigade management team we like to ensure that everyone is well trained and equipped for every emergency. So when my husband and I moved to Yildon approximately 17 years ago we wanted to give back to our community and so we joined the Yildon Fire Brigade. The Yildon Fire Brigade is unique, we're the only brigade that has a CFA fireboat. The Yildon Fire Brigade turns out to all types of emergencies. With the fireboat we have structural fires with houseboats and ski boats. With search and rescues we're the first responders prior to Vic Pol being able to respond. We also assist forest fire management Victoria and especially their repel crew and of course ambulance Victoria. So we help with their transport out to injured and sick people on the lake and on houseboats. So one of the most memorable moments was actually recently when a boat had capsized and eight people were in the water. The brigade responded quickly and our concern was about their welfare and hypothermia. So we were able to get to the people quickly due to Vic Pol placing a flare in the water so that we could locate them. We were then able to take them to shore where ambulance Victoria were able to take care of them and transport them to hospital. So being able to make sure that those people were safe and on the land they were very happy to see us and that remains in my memory and glad that we were able to be there to help them. There are many things that I enjoy about my role. One obviously is the camaraderie within the Yildon Fire Brigade but obviously broader CFA. I also enjoy being able to help the community, being able to educate them, make them more resilient and of course help save lives and property. So my goal has always been and continues to be to ensure that people are growing within the brigade to inspire people to join the brigade and to grow their skills and knowledge so that they can protect the community and for the community to grow within themselves and to become more resilient. So I believe it's important for women to get involved in CFA because they have a lot of life skills that they can bring to CFA. You will learn a lot of skills within CFA that they can also take back to their roles that they play. So I hope to inspire women from what I have accomplished within CFA. So I was the first female lieutenant and captain within the Yildon Fire Brigade and the first female deputy group officer within the Alexandra Group. So I hope that women can see what I have accomplished and that they can also accomplish those things. The advice that I would like to give other women is whatever you would like to put your mind to you can achieve.