Lorraine Bruce has been awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal as part of the King's Birthday honours in recognition of her contributions to the Rural Fire Service (RFS).
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The Wards River resident has served the Mid Coast Rural Fire District - formerly known as the Great Lakes Rural Fire District - for more than 40 years, with 20 of those years in the role of group officer.
Despite her four decades of service of protecting the community, news of the award came as a complete surprise to Lorraine.
"I was amazed really. It was completely out of the blue and I never expected it, never even gave it a thought," she said.
The award comes only about a month since Lorraine has resigned her post as group captain, a position she held for more than 40 years. Prior to that, she also served as captain at Wards River brigade, elected in 1999, after having joined the RFS as a firefighter in 1980.
The Australian Fire Service Medal was instituted in 1988 to recognise those who have rendered distinguished service as a member of an Australian fire service. It is awarded to both paid and volunteer members.
Trailblazer
Lorraine also has the distinction of being the first female group officer in the Great Lakes Rural Fire District, having been first elected in 2003.
She has served in multiple senior leadership roles in the area with distinction over that time, such as instructing and mentoring dozens of brigades and group officers, as well as serving in the field herself.
The seeds to her long and distinguished service may have been planted at an early age.
"You went out with your father and your uncles on farms years ago; that's where it all started out, at your father's knee, going out when fires came close to the houses," Lorraine said.
Lorraine continues to respond to many emergency incidents across the district supporting and leading the volunteer members in attendance.
I think it gets people involved in something outside their personal comfort zone, and I think learning to work with a lot of strangers is an advantage for later on in their careers.
- Lorraine Bruce
She has led numerous strike teams interstate, including into Victoria and the ACT, and to fires across NSW. She has maintained a leadership role in community engagement and public education through her service in the former Great Lakes Firewise Team and the former Great Lakes Community Education Brigade.
Lorraine continues to play a key role in the learning and development of volunteers in the Mid Coast Rural Fire District as an instructor, assessor and mentor.
Inspiring others
She has been a role model to many of the current volunteer leadership positions, including through the encouragement and enabling of advancement of female volunteers in the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Lorraine believes that volunteering for the RFS can be a rewarding experience for young people, who can apply the experience to other facets of their lives.
"I think it gets people involved in something outside their personal comfort zone, and I think learning to work with a lot of strangers is an advantage for later on in their careers."
While she continues to serve the RFS, Lorraine has scaled back her duties, allowing a new generation to take up the mantle.
"I just decided that I think younger people could take over - I have got a few years on me."
