Toti fire chief blazes a trail for quarter of a century

Upper South Coast fire chief Paul Audie (46) was presented with his 25 years long service award at an eThekwini Municipality ceremony.“I felt proud to receive my award in recognition of serving the community for so many years. It is definitely a milestone I won’t forget. My 25 years in the fire service sure has gone by quick,” said Paul.

He was born in Durban and matriculated at Glenwood High School in 1990. “It wasn’t my intention to become a fire fighter. A friend was applying, so I just joined him as I was tired of working in production. But once I was accepted, I was hooked on the adrenaline rush and 25 years later, I still am.”

Paul joined the eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services on 10 November 1993 at Durban Fire Department. He studied through the South African Fire Services Institute to achieve his diploma in fire engineering technology in 2001.

He rose from fire fighter to senior fire fighter in 1995, and then to leading fire fighter in 1999. He moved to Toti fire station in 2005 and was promoted to station commander the next year. He was transferred to Umkomaas when the new station opened in February 2017.

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“I still enjoy my job, as no two days are the same. Every fire or rescue is different, so it’s not a boring job, and we get to do some cool training using state-of-the-art equipment. Plus I enjoy helping people in their time of need.”

Paul is married to Cari-Anne and they have no children but three ‘fur babies’. They have lived in Kingsburgh for the last 17 years.“I belong to the Transtel Golf Club were I enjoy our monthly games. It’s quite hard to belong to any clubs due to my shift work. Besides golf, I enjoy hiking in the Berg, mountain biking and trout fishing. I also enjoy 4×4 road trips to explore the continent. Unfortunately I will be working through the festive season.”