A family bound by the want to give back to their community as ACTRFS volunteers

This year strengthens the Samara-Wickrama family’s mission of giving back to their community as new ACT Rural Fire Service (ACTRFS) member Catherine joins her father, mother, brother and uncle in the service.

The Samara-Wickrama family isn’t very good at sitting around when there is work to be done, with Catherine’s uncle Rohan the first family member to join back in 2000.

Catherine reveals the want to help the community stems from her grandfather, but witnessing her dad and brother’s dedication during both the 2003 and 2019/2020 bushfire seasons also played a huge role in her decision to enrol as a volunteer firefighter.

“I think the most exciting thing is to have more time with them and to be working towards a shared goal,” said Catherine.

“Dad was excited to buy me some tools and my brother was more of the ‘you should have joined sooner’ opinion.”

“I just feel like it's more important than ever to be part of the community and give back to it.”

Overall, Catherine is mostly looking forward to helping the community, even if that means a lot of hard work. She is also eager to learn new skills such as handling a chainsaw and maybe learning to drive a truck.