'We stand together’: Pregnant firie defends her decision to battle blazes
A pregnant firefighter has defended her decision to head to the frontlines to battle bushfires ravaging NSW.
Rural volunteer firefighter Katherine Robinson-Williams, 23, said she couldn’t just “stay behind” while her home state goes up in flames.
“Yes, I am a female. Yes, I am pregnant,” the young firie from Paxton, in the state’s Hunter Region, wrote in an impassioned social media post.
“Yes, I am going to the fires and yes I’ll be alright. No, I won’t just stay behind. No, I don’t care if you don’t like it.”
The 23-year-old, who is 13-weeks pregnant, added that her message was “for the females on the ground” in the bushfire zones.
“We stand together [and] we stand proud,” Ms Robinson-Williams said.
The young firefighter is among the many volunteers risking their lives to fight the more than 70 bushfires that have broken out across the state, half of which are currently burning uncontrolled.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the RFS had issued 13 emergency warnings, including for two in Sydney’s north-west.
"It is too late to leave," the RFS said in its warning message on Tuesday afternoon.
"Seek shelter as the fire approaches. Protect yourself from the heat of the fire.”
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