Shane Fitzsimmons

Shane Fitzsimmons
Shane Fitzsimmons; AFSM
Head of Resilience NSW
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1 May 2020
New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner
	In office; 18 September 2007 – 30 April 2020
Preceded by	Phil Koperberg AO, AFSM
Succeeded by	Robert Rogers AFSM
Personal details
Born	22 February 1969; Sydney, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Profession	Emergency services' management
Website	Our Commissioner

Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM (born (1969-02-22)22 February 1969 in Sydney) is the Head of Resilience NSW and previously the Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service between September 2007 and April 2020.

Career

Fitzsimmons joined the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) as a volunteer member of Duffys 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.[1]

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 following previous Commissioner Phil Koperberg's resignation to take up a role in NSW Parliament. Fitzsimmons was officially endorsed as NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner on 18 September.

Fitzsimmons received widespread and varied comments for his leadership during the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season after he commented that NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers wouldn't want to be paid.[2] He has been praised for his high level of empathy, solemnity and calmness in an extremely difficult time. [3]

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.[4] He started his new position on 1 May 2020.[5]

He was named the NSW Australian of the Year in 2020 and is a contender for the Australian of the Year in 2021.[6]

References

Official NSW Government Press Release
"Australians praise NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons as fires rage". News.com.au. 3 January 2020.
"Shane Fitzsimmons: 'Tireless' fire chief steering Australians through disaster". bbc.co.uk. 31 January 2020.
"RFS Commissioner Fitzsimmons to lead new Resilience NSW agency". NSW Government. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
"Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Resilience NSW) Order 2020". NSW Legislation. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
"Meet the 2021 Australian of the Year finalists". ABC News. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.

Fire appointments
Preceded by Phil Koperberg	Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service 2007 – 2020	Succeeded by Rob Rogers
Civic offices
New title	Head of Resilience NSW 2020 – present	Incumbent

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[1] Official NSW Government Press Release

[2] "Australians praise NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons as fires rage". News.com.au. 3 January 2020.

[3] "Shane Fitzsimmons: 'Tireless' fire chief steering Australians through disaster". bbc.co.uk. 31 January 2020.

[4] "RFS Commissioner Fitzsimmons to lead new Resilience NSW agency". NSW Government. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

[5] "Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Resilience NSW) Order 2020". NSW Legislation. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

[6] "Meet the 2021 Australian of the Year finalists". ABC News. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.