The pregnant firefighter tackling Australia's ferocious bushfires

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PREGNANT FIREFIGHTER KATHERINE ROBINSON-WILLIAMS SAYING:

"I'm starting to show a little bit"

Katherine Robinson-Williams is 14 weeks pregnant but that's not stopping her from fighting the bushfires raging across Australia.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PREGNANT FIREFIGHTER KATHERINE ROBINSON-WILLIAMS SAYING:

"Well I cleared it with my doctors and everything was cleared and they've just gone make sure you're wearing the correct PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and that's what I've been doing, I wear a mask with the smoke and my crew's happy with me on there, so."

She's one of thousands of firefighters tackling the blazes that have claimed three lives and destroyed around 2.5 million acres of farmland and bush.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PREGNANT FIREFIGHTER KATHERINE ROBINSON-WILLIAMS SAYING:

"It's not about me it's about the crews on the ground, it's about the community and making sure that you know, if I'm able to get out there and do the job, I'll do the job."

While bushfires are common in Australia, the ferocity and early arrival of these blazes have caught many by surprise.

On Wednesday (November 13), firefighters were struggling to contain 150 blazes on both the east and west coast fueled by extremely dry conditions after three years of drought.

For Robinson-Williams, being on the frontline against the flames is in her blood.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PREGNANT FIREFIGHTER KATHERINE ROBINSON-WILLIAMS SAYING:

"Well my dad is a firefighter, my mum's a firefighter, my brother, my uncle, my grandmother and my great grandfather was a firefighter as well. And my husband's a firey, and his two brothers are firies as well."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) JOURNALIST ASKING:

"So nothing was going to stop you?"

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PREGNANT FIREFIGHTER KATHERINE ROBINSON-WILLIAMS SAYING:

"Definitely not, no."

She says she will continue to work until she is no long able, which she thinks will when her pregnancy reaches about 30 weeks.