Meet the crew: Northland's only female rescue swimmer

Two loves keep Leah Baker, 36, in the job: her co-workers and being able to help those in need. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland has a wealth of people who commit their time and energy into their roles as emergency responders. Our Northern Advocate series - meet the crew - allows us to learn more about the people you are likely to meet in your hour of need.

Whangārei St John flight medic Leah Baker is making waves in a male dominated role as Northland's only female rescue swimmer.

The 36-year-old winch medic has spent the last four years as one of six rescue swimmers pulling people in distress from the region's waters and into the safety of the Northland Rescue Helicopter.

In December last year, Baker – alongside a winch operator and two NEST pilots – went to the aid of a shaken man whose 34-foot yacht had become flooded with water after an unexpected gust of wind knocked it sideways. The water disabled the boat's GPS and communication ports, breaking the steering at the same time.

The man lost control of the boat and drifted for around 17km northeast of Bream Head.

His five-hour ordeal ended in a dramatic rescue where in the midst of very windy conditions he had to climb into his dinghy and float 10m from the back of his boat. Baker was then able to winch him to safety.

Rescue medic Leah Baker winches from the helicopter to the boat. Photo / Supplied

"We are trained to see the worst of the worst but being able to help people in need on their most challenging days is what keeps me coming back," Baker said.

Another fierce drawcard are her co-workers - other intensive care paramedics, winch operators and NEST pilots.

"We are definitely a tight family as we work with the same people every week. We have a lot of trust in each other's skills and expertise," Baker said. "I love coming to work and spending time with my second family."

She trained in land-based day and night winch operations, as well as water and boat winches, so she is able to respond to any emergency in Northland's diverse geography – rich in dense forests and bushland, as well as an extensive coastline.

A logging accident in the Far North in 2017 was one of Baker's first call outs early in her career as a winch medic.

"A man had been hit by a falling log and because of where he was, an ambulance crew was unable to get to him," Baker said. "The only place I could be safely winched down to the ground was the bottom of this big hill."

Armed with a rescue device - specifically a rescue nappy Baker described as "cumbersome" to carry - and with a small medical bag of essential items strapped to her leg, Baker clambered over felled trees to reach the hilltop where she found the man critically injured with chest wounds.

"The helicopter came to retrieve us and pulled us off the ground where we were swinging 80 or 90 feet high in this canyon," she said. "It was a very, very high winch but one of the things that gives me confidence are the skills and experience of the pilots and winch operators."

Baker's background as a volunteer surf lifeguard at Ruakākā and earlier at Orewa, north of
Auckland, introduced her to her life's calling.

"I knew I wanted to have a career in the medical field and I had been thinking about my options with nursing," Baker said. "Then one day I happened to drive past the Whangārei Helicopter Base and thought what if I could work on an ambulance and then could eventually get to work in a helicopter."

And "amazing" was Baker's response to that sparked idea. She later graduated the Auckland University of Technology with a bachelor of health science in paramedicine which was shortly followed by the beginning of her nine-year career as a St John paramedic.