ANZCO's Local Heroes: Victoria Sibley

Today, meet Victoria Sibley

Health and Safety Manager at ANZCO Foods Canterbury

When Victoria isn't working as the Health and Safety Manager at ANZCO Foods Canterbury, she's kept busy as a rural firefighter with Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ). She helps out with emergency response, training, and community engagement in mid-Canterbury.

She first started out after chatting to a FENZ volunteer support officer at a fish and chip shop, who inspired her and encouraged her to sign up. And she's glad she did - she gets a strong sense of pride and fulfilment from helping her community. One of the highlights so far has been having the opportunity to take courses involving helicopters and off-road 4WD driving.

She stays motivated by participating in training and attending functions with her FENZ family, which helps her foster a sense of achievement and continuous learning. She's quickly learned that to effectively address the community's needs during emergencies, volunteers provide essential support and emergency services depend greatly on them.

Her skills for her job and the skills she needs for volunteering are closely linked - she's developed the ability to identify and assess risks at ANZCO, which is crucial when working on fire grounds and around the site. She's also found that facing unpredictable and high-pressure situations helped her develop the ability to stay calm and adapt quickly.

Her advice to anyone wanting to get involved in their local community is to find a cause that resonates with you and aligns with your skills and passions. If you want to be a FENZ volunteer, get in touch with your local fire brigade.