An on-call firefighter in Barnard Castle is continuing to make her mother proud on the other side of the world.
Cinnamon Filipiak, 32, is based at Barnard Castle Fire Station and works as a bartender at The Cricketers Arms alongside her life-saving role.
She moved to the UK in 2018 from New Zealand with a dream of finding a career where she could help others and finally found her calling when she joined County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service last year.
Cinnamon said: “When I told my mum that I wanted to be a firefighter she wasn’t as surprised as I thought she would be! But thinking about it, that’s probably because she knew I always wanted to be a part of the services.
“If it wasn’t the armed forces, it was the police or the fire service.
“I have always wanted to make mum proud of me in everything I do, so to know that she is proud of me makes me happy.
“It gives me the strength to keep going and to know that I am doing something right.”
Cinnamon attends a range of emergency incidents when alerted by her pager and also hones her skills at weekly drill nights held at the station.
Mum Jacqueline Haddow said Cinnamon joined the family when she was just six years old after a difficult start in life and is so proud to see how far she has come.
“After finding a happy place at Barnard Castle, the opportunity arose for her to try to become part of the fire service,” she said.
“Although it was a hard and challenging goal for her, it was also hard for me to not be there to support and encourage her in person.
“But she did it! Cinnamon is a compassionate caring person.
“She is a grafter, a great friend, a stepmother, aunt, little sister and a daughter and we are all very proud of her.”
CDDFRS is recruiting on-call firefighters who must be able to attend a fire station within five minutes of being alerted to an incident.
The paid role is open to residents aged 17 years and six months who must be able to commit to a minimum number of hours per week and attend weekly drill nights.
