AUSTRALIAN
FIRE SERVICE MEDAL
CITATION
Andrew James SKELLY
Andrew has been a Tasmania Fire
Service (TFS) member for over 40 years. His career began as a volunteer
firefighter with the Bridgewater Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1982 before joining
the Hobart Fire Brigade (HFB) as a recruit firefighter in 1984. Andrew has
worked his way through the ranks to become a highly regarded Senior Station
Officer within TFS. Throughout this time, he has worked in many TFS business
units including operations, training and field works, he has also acted as a
District Officer in HFB Operations, Training Division and the East Coast
District. Regardless of the role he has been in he has always maintained the
highest level of professionalism.
With extensive operational
experience in both the urban and bushfire contexts across Tasmania he has
significantly contributed to major fire events including but not limited to the
Hobart CBD Myer fire in 2007 and the Dunalley fire in 2013. His leadership at
these two incidents was exemplary and he significantly contributed to safe
outcomes for both firefighters and impacted communities. Nationally he deployed
to the NSW Blue Mountains in 2001, leading the TFS contingent and in 2006 he
deployed to the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria.
Andrew has always shown
outstanding leadership in developing others. Over several decades he has
mentored and assessed firefighters and officers at all ranks of the
organisation both career and volunteer and across urban and bushfire
operations. He has a passion for passing on his experience and knowledge to the
next generation of firefighters, many of whom now hold senior leadership
positions within the TFS.
Andrew showed outstanding
leadership when establishing the first Remote Area Team (RAT) capability for
the TFS. He grew the capability from a small team to a statewide capability
integrated with our fire management partners at the Parks and Wildlife Service
(PWS). The capability initiated by Andrew has now grown to a 150 strong
capability across career and volunteer firefighters that is nationally
recognised.
Andrew has a long history as a
highly regarded firefighter and leader in the TFS, this enduring service has
assisted greatly in the TFS being able to build and maintain its operational
leadership capability.
His service has been recognised with the National Medal, plus 25- and 35-year clasps and the 40-year TFS Long Service Medal.