Crew Manager Steve Balbach and Creative Content Officer Kate Balbach.
Working for our Service is a family affair for brother and sister Steve and Kate Balbach.
Firefighter Steve is an on-call Crew Manager from Durham who joined County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) in 2018 alongside his wholetime firefighter role with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS).
And younger sister Kate followed in her brother’s footsteps when she joined CDDFRS in November last year.
The 31-year-old is a Creative Content Officer on the Service’s Communications Team and is the creative mastermind behind all the imagery for our public safety and recruitment campaigns and internal messages to staff.
Kate, from Seaham, has brought a decade’s worth of graphic design experience to the Service, having worked with a range of clients including top fashion brands and leading food chains such as Smashley’s, along with other businesses.
Kate, who graduated from the University of Sunderland with a first-class degree in fashion design in 2016, said she is so proud to now work for our Service.
“I was looking for a new opportunity and joining the fire service seemed like a really exciting role,” she said.
“I feel proud to work for the same fire service as my brother and our parents are also proud of us.
“The role fits well with my family life and I work with a great team.”
Dad-of-two Steve has been a firefighter with TWFRS for three years based at Hebburn Tri-Station and is also a skilled joiner.
He said: “I am incredibly proud to be an on-call Crew Manager at CDDFRS and it has been great to see Kate doing so well in her new role with the Service.
“I often see her work displayed on the station noticeboard or on social media and it’s always nice to know she is behind it.
“Our parents are very proud to see us both in the Fire Service and working together to look after our communities.”
