Dedication reaps its reward
Published Date: 06 May 2013
Summary
Daily Liberal
BURRABADINE Rural Fire Brigade Captain Brian Schloeffel received a Commissioner's Commendation for Service at a special ceremony on Saturday.
He was one of 25 men and women from the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) that were honoured on St Florian's Day (the patron saint of firefighters) for their outstanding achievements and dedication.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Michael Gallacher paid tribute to all serving firefighters and volunteers who continued to follow in the footsteps of St Florian.
Also receiving honours was Group Captain Leslie Fowler from Central Warren Rural Fire Brigade, North West Zone.
He co-ordinated the response to a major cotton fire in the storage area at the Queensland Cotton facility on the outskirts of Warren in September 2012, and was the only person named in the debrief for his cool, calm and positive leadership which saw all the emergency services working cooperatively.
He has also been involved in many activities associated with the Rural Fire Service.
Burrabadine is part of the Orana, Region West group and Captain Schloeffel's involvement with the NSW Rural Fire Service began in 1970 when he held the position of vice-captain and later captain of the Bunglegumbie Rural Fire Brigade.
When the Bunglegumbie Brigade was amalgamated with Burrabadine brigade, Captain Schloeffel was elected vice-captain and then captain of the Burrabadine brigade, a position he still holds today.
He has been involved with many of the major fires, including the Christmas Day fire of 1984 in Dubbo, the Blue Mountains fires of 1994 and the major fire in Goonoo Forest in 2007.
During the past 10 years, Burrabadine has attended an average of 19 call-outs per year.
The range of incidents is diverse and includes motor vehicle accidents, as well as vegetation, building and garbage tip fires.
Captain Schloeffel attended the vast majority of these call-outs.
His expertise and diligence has resulted in his crews maintaining an exemplary safety record.
He was instrumental in a decision in the 1990s for Burrabadine to fund and purchase a small firefighting vehicle to act as a fast response vehicle for the western extremity of the brigade area.
Captain Schloeffel was also involved in the construction of the Burrabadine Brigade Station in 1993.
He was involved in the raising of funds for the cost of the shed, the design of the shed and the organisation of the TAFE Skillshare group who did the actual construction work.
In 1990 he was a member of the team who went to Nyngan to help strengthen the flood levy bank. After the levy bank broke he also helped evacuate the residents of the town. During the awards ceremony NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons paid tribute to the NSW RFS members and units who had gone above and beyond the call of duty.
"Awards given today recognise the very best of the NSW RFS," he said.
"While every day we have people who serve their community, today we honour those who have exceeded even our own high expectations."
