Shane Alan Fitzsimmons (born in Sydney) is the Head of

Resilience NSW Resilience NSW was a Government of New South Wales executive agency within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, focused on disaster management and was responsible for disaster recovery and building community resilience to future disasters. It ...

and was previously the Commissioner of the

New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the land area of New South ...

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. 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 Philip Christian Koperberg (born 28 April 1943), is the Chairman of the New South Wales Emergency Management Committee, responsible for advising the New South Wales government on emergency response strategies, since 2011. Koperberg is a for ...

'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 The 201920 Australian bushfire season (Black Summer), was a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, is considered a megafire. The Australian National ...

after he commented that NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers wouldn't want to be paid. He has been praised for his high level of empathy, solemnity and calmness in an extremely difficult time. In April 2020, Fitzsimmons accepted an appointment to be the Head of

, a new government agency focused on disaster preparedness and recovery approach. He started his new position on 1 May 2020. On the 15th of December 2022, Fitzsimmons announced the government orders dissolving the Resilience New South Wales agency and announced that his position had been terminated. The orders took effect on Friday the 16th of December 2022

Honours

Fitzsimons was awarded the

Australian Fire Service Medal The Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) is awarded for distinguished service by a member of an Australian fire service. The AFSM was introduced in 1988, and replaced the Imperial awards of the Queen's Fire Service Medal for Gallantry and the Que ...

in 2001. Fitzsimons was named the NSW Australian of the Year in 2020 and was a contender for the Australian of the Year in 2021. In 2022 he was appointed as Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

(AO) in the 2022 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to the community through leadership roles within fire and emergency response organisations".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimmons, Shane 1969 births Living people New South Wales Rural Fire Service People from Sydney Australian firefighters Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Fire Service Medal