STYLE QUEEN
Alstonville’s Krysti Macrae
IF YOU live around here, chances are you have crossed paths with Krysti Macrae. It may have been just an ordinary day. It could have been one of the worst days of your life, or possibly one of the happiest. She turns up in a lot of places.
Like many of us, Krysti wears many hats. Like not so many of us, one of hers is a firefighter’s hat. Another is a Community First Responder.
A business owner; her full-time gig is managing director and principal property manager of Elders Alstonville, which Krysti and her husband, Troy Macrae, have owned for over two decades.
And a mum. The couple have two daughters (Hannah, 19, and Molly, 15) and two furry sons (their shihtzus, Oscar, 6, and Archie, 2).
“I’m not going to lie, running a business, working a second job, being on call and raising teenage girls is not an easy gig,” Krysti says.
“There are many ‘FFS’ moments, when things just don’t go to plan.”
Krysti’s days can entail anything from being part of the sale of a family home, or attending the scene of a car accident, or being a first responder at a medical emergency. It’s a busy life, and one she loves. Her work is a large part of it.
“The number one thing I love about my job at Elders is the people I work with,” Krysti says.
“The staff are part of my extended family. They are all good humans.
“Following that, is the absolute diversity in my position. 26 years in property management has seen me learn something new every day, and need such a broad knowledge base - from legislation, building, finances, psychology and the list goes on.
“(At Fire + Rescue NSW), my crew responds to all the diverse emergency calls for Fire + Rescue involving fires, motor vehicle accidents and rescue, and too many more things to mention. Alstonville Station also responds to any life-threatening or potential life-threatening incidents on behalf of Ambulance NSW.
“That job has you seeing people when they are
having a very bad day.
“It is very rewarding to help people when they need it most and do your very best to really make a difference at that particular time.
“I absolutely love the diversity of the skillset it has given me,” Krysti says.
“As a very independent female, it is very empowering and a huge personal achievement for me to know that I have the skills to be able to cut the roof off a car to free a person trapped, extinguish a burning building, or be able to restart your heart.
“I am also lucky that both jobs I do are complementary to each other. In both property management and firefighting, a lot of the skills overlap. You need to know about houses, structures, water supply, electricity, construction, WHS, scene and people management, roofing etc, just to name a few. It’s also handy on the fire truck to pretty much know every street in the town, and more times than not the residents in the house you are going to, or who owns it. This information can be invaluable in an emergency.”
When she’s not running the business, or putting out fires, Krysti is happiest just hanging out with family.
“I love being trailer trash. I love camping in my caravan, not doing my hair or make-up and sitting around a campfire with a few beers at night.
“I also love to go walking and do pilates.”
As anyone who has done it will tell you, living and working with your spouse can be wonderful, or awful. Often at the same time. Krysti says her and Troy see more positives than challenges.
“As most honest people care to admit, marriage is not always easy,” she says. “The biggest challenge is living, working and sleeping together. The benefit is a greater understanding of what your partner does on a day to day basis, being able to support them when you know that they have had a bad day, or celebrate the wins together.
“Troy and I have always had an equal marriage. Without hashing out who does what, we just both know the routine and whoever gets to the job first, does it.
“Just as I can change a tyre and mow the lawn, Troy can do a load of washing or cook a meal and iron a shirt. We kind of just get things done.”
Understanding that to wear all these hats, is to risk burning out, Krysti places a strong emphasis on looking after herself.
“Since I turned 40, a few years ago now, I really have learnt the value of self-care.
“Unfortunately, (through Fire + Rescue) I see a lot of tragedy, and bad things happening to good people. It’s important that I take the time to process and deal with the matter at hand, and put it into perspective, before I let it flow into my home life or workplaces.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup and you can’t steer a ship if the rudder is bent. So, I am pretty focused on looking after myself with a good diet and exercise and time out when I need it.
“My biggest spoil is a week at Eden Health Resort. I have been twice and intend to make it a biannual event.
“My other biggest spoil is having a cold beer in a hot shower – The Shower Beer. You must try it.”
‘ It’s very empowering and a huge personal , achievement to know I have the skills to cut the roof off a car to free a person trapped, extinguish a burning building, or restart your heart.