Emergency Services Minister Troy Grant joined NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons to pay tribute to the RFS volunteers and staff at the annual award ceremony held last week on the day of the Patron Saint of Firefighters, St Florian.

“Today we stop to thank everyone involved in fighting fires across our communities especially the many men and women who are on call day after day and selflessly respond to all manner of emergencies,” Mr Grant said. 

Captain Brougham, his brigade at Valla, and the neighbouring unit at Valla Beach were among those singled out at the awards, as was the service of the recently passed Inspector Anthony ‘TJ’ Jarrett of Eungai.

Commissioner’s Commendation for Service (Individual):

Peter Brougham: During his 40 years of active service, Captain Peter Brougham has shown exceptional dedication to the NSW Rural Fire Service, his Brigade and the community.

Captain Brougham has demonstrated an untiring devotion to the protection of people, property and the environment, both locally and interstate. He undertakes out-of-area work confidently and competently, providing leadership and effective control in difficult situations. He has a keen ability to assess risks to his crew and to take appropriate action.

His detailed knowledge of the local area is invaluable when locating and fighting fires in remote bushland areas of the Nambucca Valley. This knowledge, combined with his experience and exceptional willingness, has also proved invaluable when assisting NSW State Emergency Services and Fire and Rescue NSW.

Captain Brougham has developed a brigade culture of sound practical knowledge, cooperation and dedication to a variety of onerous tasks. Captain Brougham’s fellow firefighters are continually inspired by his example and, under his leadership, Valla Brigade is highly regarded by other brigades. The wider Valla community also praises the work he performs, particularly as he has attended many devastating motor vehicle accidents on the busy Mid North Coast Pacific Highway.

Captain Brougham is a most deserving nominee for this Award, his wealth of experience, enduring commitment to the NSW RFS, concern for the welfare and safety of his community, and ongoing dedication to a difficult and responsible duty is commendable.

Commissioner’s Certificate of Commendation (Unit)

Valla and Valla Beach brigades: The Valla and Valla Beach Rural Fire Brigades are two of many rural fire brigades that provide critical fire protection to motor vehicle accident victims along the Pacific Highway and throughout rural NSW. Over the past six years the two brigades have attended numerous serious motor vehicle accidents. Many of the accidents have involved heavy transport vehicles and, unfortunately, a significant number of fatalities and serious casualties. The accident scenes were often gruesome, and the brigades’ crews were exposed to these for lengthy periods, providing fire protection and assisting with rescue, vehicle recovery and NSW Police accident investigations.

One of the most challenging incidents was on 1 September 2010, where an off-duty Fire & Rescue NSW firefighter was killed and an off-duty Valla Rural Fire Brigade member was trapped and seriously injured. The commitment and resilience of the Brigades in dealing with this and other traumatic incidents is considered exceptional. The willingness of the crews to continually respond to potentially tragic accidents has been remarkable and exceeds reasonable expectation.

Recent major improvements and upgrades to the Pacific Highway should result in a significant reduction in the number of motor vehicle accidents in the area. It is therefore timely to recognise the outstanding dedication of the Valla and Valla Beach Rural Fire Brigades who have over a significant period of time performed with distinction under trying circumstances.

Commissioner's Commendation for Service (Individual)

Inspector Anthony Jarrett (deceased): Inspector Anthony Jarrett, better known to his friends and colleagues as TJ, served the NSW RFS as a volunteer and staff member for over 39 years.

In 1977 at the age of 15, Inspector Jarrett joined the Loftus Rural Fire Brigade in the Sutherland Shire. Over the next seven years, with the guidance from a number of Senior Brigade members, his skills developed and his career progressed as a volunteer firefighter within the Brigade.

Inspector Jarrett and his family moved to the Nambucca Valley in 1995, at which time he joined the Eungai Rural Fire Brigade in the Nambucca District. By 2002 he had established himself as being a highly capable operator and he was appointed as the District’s Honorary Deputy Fire Control Officer.

In 2004 Inspector Jarrett was appointed to the role of Deputy Fire Control Officer/Operations Officer and it was in this role that he excelled. He established a bond of trust and camaraderie with his volunteers.

Inspector Jarrett’s incident management capability earned him the respect of not only his RFS colleagues but also the officers and personnel of other emergency service agencies that he interacted with during his career.

Inspector Jarrett was an enthusiastic promoter of developing the skills of both volunteers and staff. He was heavily involved as a member of the organising  team for the Region North Exercise for 16 years. He was a significant contributor to the Region North Incident Management Exercises, by assisting in the development of the operational skills of Region North’s current Incident Management Team officers.

During his career, Inspector Jarrett was involved in many of Region North’s most significant firefighting operations. In 2016 he served as a NSW RFS Response Team Coordinator, responsible for the welfare of NSW RFS volunteers deployed to the North West Remote Wilderness Area Fires in Tasmania.

In 2011 Inspector Jarrett was awarded the NSW RFS Long Service Medal and Clasps for 30 years service and in 1995 he was awarded the National Medal for distinguished service.