Award Recipient 2019 - 2020

SHANE FITZSIMMONS

Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM is the Head of Resilience NSW and previously the Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) between September 2007 and April 2020.

Fitzsimmons joined the NSW RFS as a volunteer member of Duffy’s Forest Brigade in 1985. After qualifying as a motor mechanic, he became a salaried Officer in the NSW RFS in 1994, taking on the role of Regional Planning Officer for the Central East Region. He became State Operations Officer in 1996 and two years later was named Assistant Commissioner, Operations. This role later became expanded and restyled as Assistant Commissioner, Regional Management and Strategic Development. He was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal in 2001.

In 2004, Fitzsimmons became the inaugural visiting fellow of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council to the Australian Institute of Police Management. He held this role for 12 months. After serving as Executive Director Operations and Regional Management, Fitzsimmons was appointed Acting Commissioner in mid-2007 and was officially endorsed as NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner on 18 September 2007.

Fitzsimmons received widespread and varied comments for his leadership during the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season after he commented that NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers wouldn’t want to be paid. He has been praised for his high level of empathy, solemnity and calmness in an extremely difficult time. In April 2020, Fitzsimmons accepted an appointment to be the Head of Resilience NSW, a new government agency focused on disaster preparedness and recovery approach. He started his new position on 1 May 2020.

He was named the NSW Australian of the Year in 2020 and was a contender for the Australian of the Year in 2021.