Apinya Somsri is Phuket's first and only female firefighter. A 'veteran' of the tsunami and 1-2-Go plane crash, she was recently named the island's best

Before becoming Phuket's first female firefighter, 35-year-old Apinya "Add" Somsri often found herself wondering if she would have the chance to make a difference.

Phuket has had its share of disasters needing dedicated volunteers, but how did a high-school graduate and mother become Phuket's only female firefighter?

While tending to a friend who had been in a motorcycle accident, Apinya realised she had the mettle to be a rescue volunteer, so she resolved to make a difference to others in need and responded whenever the call went out.

On most days, three bright red fire-trucks gleam in the sun outside Thepkrasattri Muni-cipal Office, on standby for emergencies. In quiet times, Apinya does paperwork for the municipality. But when the alarm sounds, she pulls on her boots and protective gear - just like her male colleagues.

Apinya had her first taste of rescue work when she went to help tsunami victims at Khao Lak in 2004, but she didn't officially become a rescue volunteer until two years later.

"I've been working as a fire woman for two years. I started out as a Civil Defence volunteer, but was eventually able to be trained as a firefighter," she explained.

Thepkrasattri Fire Chief Kittasak Boriboonkaset speaks highly of the station's only female firefighter.

"I have worked alongside her several times and seen that she is a very capable woman who plays an important role in the team," he said. "She is just as competent as any man on the job. I knew that with some training she would make a great firefighter."

Apinya and her squad were among the first emergency volunteers to arrive at Phuket International Airport when flight OG269 crash-landed on September 16 last year.

"My team was one of the first on the scene after the crash and some of the last to leave."

The Thepkrasattri Municipal Office has been awarded "Best Volunteer Centre" by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit for two consecutive years and in March this year, Apinya was honoured as "Best Phuket Firefighter 2008".

"I've always thought that being a woman shouldn't hold me back from doing the things that men do, and I'm not afraid when it comes to emergencies," she said. "When you help people, it just encourages you to do more and you can't help but love the job."