David Jimenez, a recruit firefighter for NTFRS, turns firefighting dream into reality in Top End

David Jimenez, a Spanish-born immigrant, never gave up on his dream of firefighting even when times were tough. Find out why he chose the NT as his home.

David Jimenez (left) grew up on the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa. Picture: Supplied

David Jimenez felt relieved as he sat by the water’s edge, watching as the waves crashed into the shore.

Moments earlier he was in those same waters, saving a man who had found himself on the verge of drowning after being hauled out to sea by a strong rip current.

Being one of only a handful of people on the beach that day, Mr Jimenez bravely swam out to the man with only his body board.

“By his body language I could tell that something wasn’t right,” said Mr Jimenez, who was only 16 at the time and living in the Canary Islands.

Mr Jimenez’s instincts were right; the man was exhausted when he reached him.

“I’ve never seen someone grab the board so desperately,” he said.

Mr Jimenez later met with the man he saved, weeks after the incident. Picture: Supplied

Weeks later, on a more crowded, sunnier day, the same man returned with his family, who he introduced to Mr Jimenez, his saviour.

“It was very beautiful; I had a very emotional day,” he said.

“I knew from then on I wanted to do something like that again … it’s saving people’s lives, it’s the most important thing ever.”

It was experiences such as these that drew Mr Jimenez to firefighting, a career in which he could help someone every day.

But he quickly ran into some challenges when he first tried at age 20.

“I tried in mainland Madrid, then I went to the Basque Country and I tried there, but I couldn’t get in,” he said.

“I was too young, it was a different process, everyone was much older than me, I didn’t have much self-confidence and I got intimidated by others; there was a lot of competition.”

Mr Jimenez put firefighting on hold, but he never gave up on it. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

He decided he would put the firefighting career on hold for a few years and go to university, where he studied marine engineering.

After years in that field, he made another change; he decided he’d move to Australia.

And when he finally got his citizenship, he successfully tried out firefighting in several jurisdictions, where he developed many skills such as teamwork and collaboration.

But in the end he chose to join the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service, despite not having visited before.

“The more I stay here, the more I realise I feel comfortable; it feels more like home,” he said.

“It’s a multicultural place, it feels down to earth and humble.

“I’m happy here, and the more I fall in love with this place the more I want to stay here.”

“When I came here to do my testing, I knew this place was home.”

Mr Jimenez hopes others will give firefighting a fair go. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Mr Jimenez, now a recruit firefighter in squad 51, says it was his passion that drove him, and notes that persistence is key for anyone out there wanting to try out being a firefighter.

“You just have to believe in yourself,” he said.

“Visualise it and it happens; because it happened to me and I’m not even from here, and now I realise everything I’ve done in the past has led me to this.

“So just keep trying.”

Find out more about volunteering with NTFRS on the Police, Fire and Emergency Services website or email [e-mail]

Originally published as David Jimenez, a recruit firefighter for NTFRS, turns firefighting dream into reality in Top End