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Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wolf and three point sixty online at Mix

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Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com.

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Speaker 2: You joining us in the studio this morning. We have

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Speaker 2: got the Chief fire Officer Mark spain Good morning, Spainy.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Good to have you in the studio. And we're also

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Speaker 1: joined by your new.

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Speaker 2: Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Josh Fisher, who many.

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Speaker 1: Will know from his former role. Good morning to you, Josh.

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Speaker 4: Good morning.

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Speaker 2: And you used to be with Bushfire ZNT and obviously

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Speaker 2: come across to work with Spainy.

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Speaker 4: I certainly have you jump ships so to speak.

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Speaker 2: Now, Now I know that it's always a busy time

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Speaker 2: of the year for you guys, sort of getting prepared. Well,

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Speaker 2: I guess you'd call it fire season. Is that what

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Speaker 2: you call it? Or is every you know?

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Speaker 1: I don't know. Is the whole year really a time

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Speaker 1: to be prepared? Spainy?

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, you know. We have two fire seasons. We have

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Speaker 3: the Southern fire season, which is our lines up with

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Speaker 3: the Eastern Board and the Southern Board. Ye, and then

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Speaker 3: in the opposite seasons we're there during winter we have

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Speaker 3: our five seasons up at the top end.

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Speaker 2: Now, there's been quite a bit of recruit happening at

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Speaker 2: the moment. I understand that the recruit firefighter Squad forty five,

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Speaker 2: so there's twelve of them, commence on the sixth of

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Speaker 2: April and graduate on the twenty ninth of July, so

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Speaker 2: a little bit later this year. So are they still

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Speaker 2: sort of in their training at this point.

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Speaker 1: In time, Katie?

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Speaker 4: The recruit Squad forty five l comments on the sixth

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Speaker 4: of April, So it's a seventeen week training course, right, yep.

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Speaker 4: So we've got twelve people, eleven males and one female

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Speaker 4: that'll be joining the ranks of the Fire Service. So

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Speaker 4: they'll be going through quite an intensive seventeen week period

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Speaker 4: to cover off on all their training.

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Speaker 1: How hard is.

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Speaker 2: It to actually get into the fieries as well. I'm

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Speaker 2: of the understanding that it's a pretty difficult process.

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Speaker 4: Look, it certainly is. As we know five fighting is

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Speaker 4: quite physically and psychologically demanding, tending to all the incidents

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Speaker 4: that they respond to through their career. There's sort of

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Speaker 4: six stages of the recruitment aspects. So the initial application

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Speaker 4: where they submit their application online. We then do some

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Speaker 4: personal integrity and character assessments. We then undertake the cardiovascular

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Speaker 4: challenge test known as the Big Test, where they've got

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Speaker 4: to get level nine point six, So quite a physical

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Speaker 4: demanding test that one is. Then we go through some

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Speaker 4: written and psychometric assessments physical aptitude, and then we finish

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Speaker 4: with a panel interview and medical examination.

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Speaker 1: Wow, so there is quite a bit to get through.

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Speaker 2: How many intakes of those new recruits do you usually do?

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Speaker 1: Is it just one a year or is there a

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Speaker 1: couple of year.

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Speaker 4: Look, we try for one year to keep up with

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Speaker 4: our natural attrition and the vacancies that we have within

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Speaker 4: the service. It has been quite some time since the

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Speaker 4: last one, about twenty nineteen I think was the last course,

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Speaker 4: So this is the first one to help us build

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Speaker 4: our resources.

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Speaker 2: Now I understand that you've also got some new equipment.

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Speaker 2: Is that what you call it or a new appliance,

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Speaker 2: which I believe is a fancy sort of way of

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Speaker 2: saying like a new vehicle that is able to do

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Speaker 2: a losh.

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Speaker 4: Certainly, we've got a number of new appliances coming online.

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Speaker 4: The most recent one was the bulk water carriers, so

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Speaker 4: the large water truck that we will use in the

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Speaker 4: rural area to assist with wildfires. That'll be used across

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Speaker 4: the territory on a as needs basis. There's a number

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Speaker 4: of other new vehicles that are coming online. We've got

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Speaker 4: some new grass fire units, so our land cruisers that

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Speaker 4: our listeners would see getting about the place, as well

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Speaker 4: as our urban fire fighting appliance is. There's around nine

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Speaker 4: new appliants is to come online this year.

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Speaker 2: There's certainly a lot of you know, there's a lot

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Speaker 2: that happens behind the scenes. I think when it comes

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Speaker 2: to fighting fires that lots of people wouldn't be aware

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Speaker 2: of spaining. Even over the weekend. Obviously, we saw a

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Speaker 2: situation in Catherine where there was a house fire. You know,

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Speaker 2: these types of things. Unfortunately, they do happen more often

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Speaker 2: than what people probably realize, don't they.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, Katie. A lot of the times it's like the

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Speaker 3: old potlos Oh my goodness of the chips. However, that

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Speaker 3: fire was of a serious nature and it's just a

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Speaker 3: time reminder to we're coming up approaching April first, so

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Speaker 3: it's time for everyone to check their smoke alarms sure

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Speaker 3: it actually check them monthly to make sure they're in

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Speaker 3: good working all. As we know, working smoke of arm

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Speaker 3: is the one that will save your life. So that's

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Speaker 3: so important. And also as we're coming into the dry

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Speaker 3: we're expecting a lot of people to visit the territory,

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Speaker 3: so we really ask those people are hosting families into

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Speaker 3: houses to make sure that they've got their little house

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Speaker 3: evacuation plans in order to say, although we're familiar with

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Speaker 3: the layout of our house, the family is visiting and saying,

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Speaker 3: especially the little ones just need to run through a

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Speaker 3: couple of practice drills to get to the front letterbox

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Speaker 3: or a meeting point that you know that would just

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Speaker 3: help them.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, and it's good, Like I reckon, it's probably

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Speaker 2: a good thing for us to all do anyway with

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Speaker 2: our family to just sort of have a run through.

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Speaker 2: I kind of try to do that type of thing

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Speaker 2: with the kids occasionally where you just remind them that

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Speaker 2: if there is something that goes wrong, you know, you

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Speaker 2: don't need to panic. These are the types of things

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Speaker 2: that you need to remember and how you'd get out

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Speaker 2: of the house.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely. Yeah, while we're in a car environment, it's easy

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Speaker 3: to walk through it make it a fun game. But

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Speaker 3: obviously when the conditions change, that's what it's really important

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Speaker 3: that it clicks in.

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Speaker 2: And obviously it's important for us as individuals to make

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Speaker 2: sure that we're sort of prepared and organized and that

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Speaker 2: we do different things around the house.

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Speaker 1: But I would imagine then when you talk about the.

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Speaker 2: Actual fire service, you guys have got a lot of

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Speaker 2: different things that you've got to make sure that you

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Speaker 2: do to sort of, you know, to keep the organization,

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Speaker 2: but to keep everything running quite smoothly. Also we do Catie.

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Speaker 3: Look as the first of July last year, we reformed

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Speaker 3: the fire service. The new commissioner came on board and

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Speaker 3: restructured us. So it allowed me to have an assistant

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Speaker 3: chief for IFS and a Deputy Chief firefser. Each of

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Speaker 3: those fire offs as whole three portfolios. Josh's one is interesting.

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Speaker 3: He's got training and development, He's got the cape and

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Speaker 3: development side of it and a fire safety side. So

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Speaker 3: when you think about you only have to look at

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Speaker 3: the Dale landscape, and you know we're a fairly small

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Speaker 3: population by any stretch, but we've got big city assets.

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Speaker 3: You know, we've got thirty four story buildings, We've got

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Speaker 3: multiple four story buildings unsprinkled. So how fire service, you know,

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Speaker 3: we cover a hell of a lot of ground and

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Speaker 3: it's spreading, you know, you have a look at cooler

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Speaker 3: lingo of the expansion there. So with the new Palmerston

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Speaker 3: station coming on board, it'll just put us in a

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Speaker 3: good place.

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Speaker 2: And Josh, how's it been for you sort of making

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Speaker 2: the transition from Bushfires EN to across.

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Speaker 4: Look, it's certainly been a huge learning curve for myself

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Speaker 4: and I'm really excited to work for Fine Rescue Service.

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Speaker 4: It's been a number of years with Bushfires NT and

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Speaker 4: as the chief pointed out, there's holyp and new portfolios

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Speaker 4: that I'm responsible for, so lots of new learnings for myself.

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Speaker 4: But it's really important work that our members do play

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Speaker 4: in each of those spaces in terms of protecting the

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Speaker 4: Northern Territory communities, ensuring that we have the right assets

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Speaker 4: so that we can combat those incidents as they occur.

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Speaker 2: And well, it's not all just about making sure that

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Speaker 2: we're prepared for fires and obviously fighting fires in the

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Speaker 2: case of you two, but I know that these other

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Speaker 2: different community events that you get involved in as well,

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Speaker 2: and one of those is the Walk off the Wall

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Speaker 2: within When is that happening, Spainy Because last year we

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Speaker 2: actually all committed to doing it, Me and my producer

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Speaker 2: and my newsreader. But then it got canceled due to COVID.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely yeah, rock crossing myself we did twenty k walk.

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Speaker 3: Given that was canceled, we still achieved on that day.

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Speaker 3: It's very close to what we're targeting for the first

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Speaker 3: of May.

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Speaker 1: First of May, so.

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Speaker 3: It's easy to get out now if you're willing to

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Speaker 3: do the Big One, which is the twenty kilometer walk

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Speaker 3: with a twenty kilo pack, now is the time to train.

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Speaker 3: It's beautiful weather conditions at the moment, no humidity, lovely

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Speaker 3: dry weather.

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Speaker 1: Perfect mate.

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Speaker 2: I'm a chance of walking twenty ks, but I don't

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Speaker 2: know if I could carry twenty k turny kg. It's

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Speaker 2: nearly my weight, like piggybacking a small child the whole

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Speaker 2: way around.

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Speaker 1: It might be a struggle for me.

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Speaker 3: I'd love to see it. There are other options there, Katie.

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Speaker 3: So that's for the Big one Face diehards Now?

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Speaker 2: Where can people go for a bit more info though,

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Speaker 2: if they are keen to maybe get involved in that walk.

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Speaker 2: It is such a great event and it's something that

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Speaker 2: we try and do each year.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, there is a Facebook walking off the war within.

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Speaker 3: It's a hard one to people struggle to grasp it,

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Speaker 3: but it's walking off the war within. They will link

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Speaker 3: you up to the Facebook site and the event will

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Speaker 3: give you more information, all good stuff.

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Speaker 2: Well, wonderful to talk to both of you. I really

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Speaker 2: appreciate you coming into the studio this morning telling us

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Speaker 2: a little bit more about what's going on, and certainly

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Speaker 2: telling us a bit more about that new recruit firefighter

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Speaker 2: squad that's about to get underway. Chief Fire Officer Mark

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Speaker 2: Spain and new Assistant Chief Fire Officer Josh Fisher. Good

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Speaker 2: to speak to you both this morning.

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Speaker 4: Thanks Katie, Thanks