Narara Rural Fire Brigade member and Deputy Commissioner Peter McKechnie was awarded the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) National Emergency Medal on July 19 for his efforts in coordinating the response during the 2019-2020 bushfire season.
The National Emergency Medal is awarded to individuals whose service was in the protection of lives and property or interests that were not their own and who supported the emergency response for a minimum of five days between September 2019 and February 2020.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery, Steph Cooke, joined RFS Commissioner, Rob Rogers AFSM, to present the medal to McKechnie and 87 other staff members who provided significant service across the state during the devastating fire season.
“We have the opportunity to recognise staff members from across the state and congratulate them for their incredible contribution throughout the devastating 2019-20 bush fire season,” Cooke said.
“These RFS members went above and beyond to help respond to the bush fires that impacted so many communities.
“I want to take this opportunity to say thank you for your dedication throughout the long and dangerous Black Summer bush fire emergency.”
Commissioner Rob Rogers said most staff were also volunteer members of the organisation and spent days in the field as well as in incident management teams or state operations.
“Many worked non-stop for months on end, and it is fitting to recognise them for their tireless efforts helping to keep communities safe,” Rogers said.
Deputy Commissioner McKechnie said he was appreciative to receive the recognition and was proud of every staff member and volunteer who helped protect and serve their local community.
“It was an amazing effort by everyone involved throughout the season, particularly our volunteers,” McKechnie said.
“During the season, I was rostered at the State Operations Centre based at the Sydney headquarters in Olympic Park…it’s a position that takes oversight of what’s happening across the state, prioritising where we might apply resources and support to our local incident management teams and brigades.
“Apart of that role was overseeing the Central Coast area, and it was amazing to see the massive effort from the volunteers, particularly in those firefighting roles.
“Central Coast brigades were providing support from one end of the state to the other, and there were crews constantly making themselves available and assisting areas from the Queensland border all the way to down to the Victoria border.”
McKechnie has moved up through the ranks to his current position, where he leads regional and district teams to plan for, prepare and mitigate the impact of bush fires.
He initially started as a volunteer at the Narara Rural Fire Brigade, where he remains a member, and worked his way up to captain.
McKechnie has previously filled the Manager State Operations & Aviation role after serving in several regional and district roles and has performed senior operational roles within Australia from Bathurst, Northern Beaches and Dubbo.
“What I gained from being a volunteer in the NSW RFS is what made me become a staff member,” McKechnie said.
“That’s what we saw in 2019 and 2020…firefighters that wanted to be there to help their local community.
“It’s that commitment that drives our volunteers, so it’s great that the Government has been able to acknowledge that.”
The staff members honoured on July 19 joined more than 16,000 volunteers across the state who have also been awarded the National Emergency Medal for their efforts during Black Summer.
Hayley McMahon