During the devastating 2021 fires, the bravery of Stephen Urquhart saved the lives of two people.
Mr Urquhart, the captain of the Camden West Rural Fire Service brigade, arrived in Bargo just when the devastating fire front was in the process of destroying one home and lapping the fringe of the other.
Without hesitation he went inside to see if anyone was still there.
He found two elderly persons and Mr Urquhart and another crew member carried them to safety.
Last night, at the inaugural Macarthur Rotary First Responders awards, Stephen Urquhart won the major award for volunteer first responders.
A packed auditorium at Wests Leumeah was on hand for this commendable new community initiative. Representatives from all council areas, including the mayor of Campbelltown, George Greiss, presented some of the awards.
Winners were announced in each of the four first responder services, SES, Rural Fire Service, Fire & Rescue and the Ambulance,.
Then an overall winner was chosen from the salaried and volunteer services.
The salaried 2023 First Responder of the Year award went to Daniel Austin, both for his bravery as a fire fighter and for his fundraising efforts over 10 years for the children’s burns unit at Westmead.
But the acting station officer at Macquarie Fields does more than fundraise: “Mr Austin continually raises awareness around the impact that these funds raised have on the unit and has proven to be a strong link from FRNSW as a motivator for individual firefighters and their friends and families to get on board with raising funds for the Burns unit,’’ said the citation for his nomination.
“He is now creating waves with 400in4.org campaign, a proactive way to raise funds for the burns unit tapping into a wider audience which is now raising $70,000 a year and growing.’’
The winner of the Ambulance category was David Kynaston, who manages rosters and team members at Campbelltown.
He also responds to emergencies in his capacity as an intensive care paramedic where he administers drugs, performs CPR and other potentially life saving functions.
Aimee Broughton won the award for the State Emergency Service (SES).
A member of Picton SES with eight years service, Ms Broughton is a high school teacher.
During the 2022 floods in Wollondilly, she assisted families and business to not only save their belongings and businesses, but ensure that they were safe from harm.
