QFES Rural Fire Service Week awards recognise dedicated Southern Downs volunteers

The QFES Rural Fire Service Week awards ceremony for the South West region recognised the dedicated stalwarts for their service. Read their stories here.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has held award ceremonies across the state to recognise the dedicated efforts of both volunteer and paid firefighters as part of Rural Fire Services Week.

The South West region ceremony was held at Dalveen Community Hall on Saturday and saw more than 30 volunteer firefighters awarded for their dedicated efforts in protecting the region during the bushfire season.

QFES Rural Fire Service Week award recipients at the Dalveen Community Hall ceremony on Saturday.

Receiving a QFES Medal was Mallow Rural Fire Brigade first officer Allan Bates, who has spent more than 20 years in the region and has been a member of the rural fire service for the past five years.

This wasn’t the first award for the humble Granite Belt volunteer firefighter, who was commended for his efforts in assisting crews during the devastating 2019/2020 bushfire season which ravaged Canberra and the greater NSW region.

Mr Bates said the community’s union and support of one another in times of need inspired his decision to join his local rural fire service.

“We had a fire out near our place and all of these people jumped in to help out and I thought, if someone helped me, I may as well help them,” he said.

QFES South Western Regional Manager Superintendent Wayne Waltisbuhl (L), John Bates and QFES Acting Assistant Commissioner Jason Lawler (R). Mallow Rural Fire Brigade volunteer and 1st officer John Bates received a QFES Medal during the Rural Fire Service Week awards at Dalveen on Saturday.

Another Southern Downs recipient of the QFES medal was Sugarloaf Rural Fire Brigade volunteer and crew leader Karina Crisp, who comes from a family of volunteer firefighters and has been giving her time to the rural fire service for the past 19 years.

“It’s a pretty unique experience, I like the challenge and mateship of it,” she said.

“You become pretty good friends with the crews that you go out with, because you have to rely on them as well.”

QFES South Western Regional Manager Superintendent Wayne Waltisbuhl (L), Karina Crip and QFES Acting Assistant Commissioner Jason Lawler (R). Sugarloaf Rural Fire Brigade volunteer Karina Crisp was awarded a QFES medal for her dedication to the service as part of the Rural Fire Service Week Awards at Dalveen on Saturday.

National Medal and QFES Medal recipient, Ballandean Rural Fire Brigade volunteer Michael Simpson, also comes from a family of volunteer firefighters.

The Granite Belt tomato farmer has been following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather all of his life, and their dedication to the service has been the driving force that has led him to continue the family tradition.

With the region experiencing quite a wet past two years during bushfire season, Mr Simpson said there was now plenty of growth around that could be fuel for bushfires once temperatures begin to warm up.

“We do as many control burns as we can and a fair few of the (other rural fire brigades) are doing them as well as a reduction,” he said.

“It does help because we had a big fire out here and luckily the fella had (control burned) a big strip, so when the fire got to there, we only had to worry about the one side.”

RFES South Western Regional Manager Superintendent Wayne Waltisbuhl (L) Michael Simpson and QFES Acting Assistant Commissioner Jason Lawler (R).Ballandean Rural Fire Brigade volunteer Michael Simpson received a QFES and National Medal at Dalveen's Rural Fire Service Week awards on Saturday.