Fourteen Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteers from across the Southern Tablelands have received a Commissioner's Certificate of Commendation after a heroic act while on deployment.
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The commendations come off the back of a total of 430 Emergency Service Medals presented to Southern Tablelands RFS brigade members for service during the 2019/20 summer bushfires.
Both sets of awards have been delayed over the past two years due to COVID restrictions but volunteers finally had a chance to reflect and celebrate across the region on the weekend.
Five of the 14 commendation recipients gathered at Tarlo to be formally acknowledged for their bravery while being sent down to Victoria to fight the fires.
Sporting the name Strike Team Echo-1 and representing the Wallaroo, Goulburn, Middle Arm, Murrumbateman, Springfield, Golspie, Tarlo and Parkesbourne brigades, the unit were forced into action before even leaving NSW.
"They were on their way to the Victorian fires in 2019 when they came across an motor vehicle accident just outside Cooma," explained Southern Tablelands RFS operations officer Mitchell Butler.
"When they arrived there were no emergency services on the scene so they assisted the elderly gentleman and potentially saved his life."
Listed as part of Strike Team Echo-1 was the late Luke Amor of Wallaroo Brigade who Butler remembered fondly as a "committed and experienced" volunteer who loved the RFS.
Amongst the numerous awards handed out over the weekend, seven long-service meals were presented at Roslyn with father-son duo John and Andrew Nixon being acknowledged for an amazing 71 and 42 years of service respectively.
Butler said the awards couldn't express how grateful the Tablelands region was to have a dedicated bunch of volunteers ready to step up when needed.
"It's just their commitment to service and to the communities [that's amazing]," he told the Post.
"They are all volunteers who get out there and give back. We can't thank them enough for everything they do and the support they get from their families and employers to allow them to."
Strike Team Echo-1
- Wallaroo - Neil Shepherd, Luke Amor, David King, Thomas Bailey-Price, Michael Textor
- Murrumbateman - Kingsley Hunt
- Springfield - Richard Foreshaw
- Golspie - Benjamin Lynch
- Tarlo - David Tozer
- Middle Arm - Jack Robjohns
- Goulburn - Matthew Gadney
- Parkesbourne - Christopher Flanagan
- Staff member (RTC) - Lachlan Gilchrist
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