When Fire & Rescue NSW Illawarra zone commander Superintendent Tony Waller was named overall winner in a paid capacity at the 2019 Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards on Friday it was a win for the whole community.
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Supt Waller brought a wealth of experience with him when he was transferred to Wollongong Fire Station earlier this year as the senior officer in the region.
He was previously the technical manager responsible for rescue, driver, first aid, breathing apparatus and fire fighter training at the training academy in Sydney. But with his background in urban search and rescue saw him called to help in Christchurch after the earthquake, Proserpine after Cyclone Betty and a major flood event in the Northern Rivers.
His other roles include being a rescue crewman with the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service for 35 years and a Scout leader, director of education on the board of Surf Life Saving NSW.
"I feel a little embarrassed by the win and all the attention because as a superintendent I should be nominating other people," he said.
"It is nice to be recognised for the work I have done in the community but It is not really about me. The finalists were all emergency service personnel but each of their stories is so much more. They all wear multiple hats with multiple agencies. And on top of their emergency service work they are all out there doing amazing work in their community. They are really community minded people who are making a difference every day".
When Supt Waller left high school he went straight into the fire brigade and describes himself as a product of the system.
"I have no doubt my time as a surf lifesaver and then as a firefighter is what gained me a position on the helicopter crew back in 1984. One thing led to the other and the next thing I am a specialist.For me a life lived without service to others is a hollow life".
Supt Waller's status as an expert in urban search and rescue, road crash rescue and swift water rescue has not only seen him speak and teach skills internationally but placed him in demand to help with major rescue events.
"With Christchurch I was in the third task force to arrive. We were just at the back of the rescue phase and running into the recovery phase. We had the grim task of actually searching buildings for any survivors and also to recover the deceased".
The team he was in then used their skills to help the community recover. They did things like assess whether structures were safe for the people to move back into.
Supt Waller did similar work at Proserpine where he was an operations officer in the recovery phase after the cyclone.
He has brought that experience and knowledge to his new role in Wollongong but said the region already boasts a highly experienced team of permanent and retained fire fighters.
"I bring a wealth of knowledge that has been given to me by the community of NSW. The taxpayers have paid for my skills and ability and I see it as a great responsibility to pass those skills on," he said.
"I am in awe of the skills and the abilities of the local fire fighters here. Recently we put on a technical rescue truck and they are going through a lot of advanced training. They are up-skilling their capability for the community down here".
The NSW Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards grew from an annual event started by Rotary clubs in the Illawarra to recognise unwavering commitment to community safety.
The 2019 awards were presented in Bankstown on Friday night and Rotarian Dot Hennessy said as one of the two overall winners Supt Waller goes on to represent the state in the first national RESCA awards in the second week of October.
"This Saturday night ACT run their awards. They will have two overall winners like we had and they will all go forward to be judged nationally," Mrs Hennessy said.
"Tasmania is committed to join in next year and Western Australia are joining us on Saturday night in Canberra. So we are quietly confident we will have five of the seven states and territories on board for next year".
Read more:
- 2019: Fire & Rescue NSW Illawarra zone commander named emergency services officer of year
- 2017: Bulli firefighter Daniel Hatton named Rotary NSW Emergency Services Officer of the Year
- 2016: Winners named in Rotary NSW Emergency Services Community Awards: photos
- 2015: Bulli mum named officer of the year