Sally Foote champions, mentors and inspires within the Fire and Rescue service Coffs Coast Coffs Coast - popup ad by News Of The Area - Modern Media - February 2, 2024 Sally Foote, stationed at Coffs Harbour Fire and Rescue, has received the Australian Fire Service Medal. SERVING her community for 34 years, Coffs Harbour Fire and Rescue’s Sally Foote has received the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM). Sally began working for the Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) in January 1989. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au Throughout her career she has spent considerable time in both metropolitan and regional operations, working at fire stations in the Sydney CBD, Guildford, Turvey Park and Coffs Harbour. She has also spent many years in relieving positions, working across numerous stations in NSW. Throughout her career, Sally has demonstrated exemplary leadership in challenging circumstances. She joined FRNSW at a time when female firefighters were less than one percent of the workforce and remains the second longest serving female firefighter to date. She was the first female to make the rank of station officer. In this role Ms Foote is responsible for a crew of firefighters and leads their operational response activities as well as daily training, preparedness and prevention activities. As a firefighter, but even more so as a station officer, Sally has always fostered a positive and inclusive culture in her crews. She demonstrates this by setting clear expectations for all staff, calling out poor behaviour and motivating staff to perform to their best. Being a female station officer has meant that Sally is a role model to many female firefighters. This is a role that she has enthusiastically embraced by actively seeking out and supporting young female firefighters, acting as a mentor and providing them insight, guidance and support to assist their careers. Throughout her career, she has been instrumental in large campaign incidents including the 2017 Cyclone Debbie response in the Northern Rivers and the 2019-20 bushfires locally. She was the officer in charge of the North Coast deployment by RAAF C130 Hercules to Eden during the 2019-20 bushfires and the 2021-22 flood emergencies. Sally Foote has served her community selflessly for 34 years as a passionate advocate for female firefighters within FRNSW, and a champion of diversity and inclusion. By Andrea FERRARI
