I started off with violin, then I started learning guitar, then I went to piano. But I self-taught piano just because I enjoyed it. I've always really enjoyed music.

First responders are a resilient lot. They deal with many types of situations and are very good at improvisation in their work.

'Chicago Fire' has been a wonderful outlet for me. We're thrown into the gritty streets of Chicago working among actual first responders. They're a wonderful bunch, and the sense of community among Midwesterners is very similar to Australians.

Chicago's like Melbourne - there's a city center, there's public transport, and there's more of a cultural scene.

In terms of people who we call heroes - and I don't tend to like that term, and firefighters don't consider themselves heroes - but if you look at their job description, they are. Their job is to straight up save people.