A Riverina man who dedicated more than 40 years to protect his local community has now been recognised with the highest honour a firefighter can receive.
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Les Carr has been awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours List.
"As a young child, I always wanted to be firefighter," he said.
"I was lucky enough to be accepted. It was very exciting to hear the news of the medal."
Captain Carr was one of the first on the scene at incidents such as the 2020 XPT train fire and led crews at the 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires. But, there is one call out that sticks out in his memory.
"It was a childbirth that we were called to as backup for the ambulances," Captain Carr said.
"We arrived before them and just as the lady was giving birth. I did suggest they call the baby Les, but that never worked."
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Captain Carr has also committed to a range of community charities, including CanAssist and Riding for the Disabled.
Fire Commissioner Paul Baxter congratulated Captain Carr for playing an integral part in protecting his local community and surrounding areas.
"He has fostered strong inter-agency relationships and demonstrated his strong emergency management skills at various incidents, including the grain silo fire in January 2007 and last year's XPT train fire," he said.
"Additionally, during the 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires, Captain Carr provided critical leadership to his firefighters in extremely difficult conditions."
Commissioner Baxter said the Cootamundra firefighter was one of the first Captains to initiate the FRNSW Peer Partners program.
"To ensure the crew were looking after each other and their loved ones, Captain Carr provided firefighters with the tools to help identify potential mental health issues and how to deal with them," he said.
"He is committed to protecting both the mental wellbeing and physical safety of his crew at all times."
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