Bushland Shire says ‘thank you’ to Shane Fitzsimmons

Hornsby Shire Council

Hornsby Shire Council has paid special tribute to the Head of Resilience NSW, Shane Fitzsimmons AO AFSM, unanimously endorsing a Mayoral Minute “acknowledging the invaluable contributions to the citizens of New South Wales and indeed the Nation” by the former Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS).

Mr. Fitzsimmons lives locally in Hornsby Shire, in the suburb of Berowra.

In Sydney’s Northern Suburbs, Hornsby Shire has been dubbed ‘The Bushland Shire’ for its more than 2,000 hectares of native bushland, much of it adjoining Berowra Valley National and Regional Park.

However, the Shire has also experienced a number of highly destructive bushfires since European settlement, including the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires crisis.

At Council’s meeting of Wednesday (23 February), Hornsby Shire Mayor, Philip Ruddock, said:

“Mr. Fitzsimmons’ calm, steadfast, unassuming yet reassuring leadership during the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires crisis attracted the admiration of the people of Australia and drew praise from around the world.

“The citizens of Hornsby Shire are only too familiar with bushfires and other natural disasters.

“As we confront the uncertainties of our time, it is fitting that we should express our appreciation of the empathetic, steady, and capable leadership of Shane Alan Fitzsimmons and celebrate his recent appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day Honours.”

Mr. Fitzsimmons’ service to the community began as a volunteer with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) in Northern Sydney in 1985, and eventually led to his appointment to Commissioner of NSW RFS in 2007.

With over six per cent of NSW or some 5.5 million hectares of land burned during the 2019–2020 crisis, including within the heavily forested Hornsby Shire, Mr. Fitzsimmons had command of over 2,500 firefighters at the peak of the fire season.

“Here in the ‘Bushland Shire’, we have in the past suffered terribly from bushfires, and we were fortunate to benefit from the capable leadership of the then Commissioner Fitzsimmons during the most recent fire season,” said Mayor Ruddock.

“When in April 2020 the NSW Government established Resilience NSW, a new agency focused on disaster preparedness and recovery, it was most appropriate that Mr. Fitzsimmons should be asked to lead it.

“I and the Council as a whole felt that we should put on record an expression of our community’s appreciation for the many services Shane has done in helping protect our beautiful Shire which rejoices in so many wonderful natural features, including its dense native bushland and forests.”

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