Brendan Kingdom, a volunteer firefighter from the Lake Albert Rural Fire Brigade, took out the Region South winner for the 2018 Young Leader Scholarship.

“There were roughly 200 or more applicants across NSW,” he said. “I was pretty stoked about it.”

Mr Kingdom is passionate about the work he does, even though it’s on a volunteer basis. 

“For me it’s a way to get me out of home and getting me doing something I wouldn’t normally do,” he said. 

“It’s also a fantastic opportunity for me to give back to the community and help out in their time of need.

“I’m not going to lie, when our phones go off it’s because someone’s day is generally not going too well and I like being able to help them.”

The friendships made and the skills learned are an added bonus, Mr Kingdom said. 

“The RFS is a very close-knit community,” he said.

“There’s always someone who is willing to listen and everyone is there to help each other out.”

Mr Kingdom doesn’t give a second thought to volunteering his spare time in service to the community.

“It depends on the season, but on average it is two hours a week,” he said.

“In summer, however, that time can ramp up quite a bit.” 

Being a part of an institution of the Wagga community is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Mr Kingdom said. 

“A lot of people respect the RFS, especially in the smaller communities around Wagga there is no other fire service,” he said. 

“The NSW RFS is it, that’s all they have got.

“We may be a volunteer service, but we are still considered a professional organisation and it’s well regarded.”

Mr Kingdom would encourage younger community members to also sign up and volunteer.

“I would highly recommend it,” he said. “It’s a constructive way to spend some of your spare time and give back to the community.”