Honoured by the award, Mr Alexander paid tribute to the 2,500 fire fighting volunteers and staff in the NSW Fire Service Southern Border team.

“I’m very proud to be awarded the medal but it’s all due to the volunteers and staff - they’re the ones that do all the hard work and I’m only here to provide the skills and resources to do that hard work,” he said.

Mr Alexander manages the Southern Border team which comprises the Hume Zone and Corowa Berrigan Zones extending east from Jingellic and Holbrook to Finley and Tocumwal in the west.

What he likes best about his work is meeting the volunteers, liaising with councils and the satisfaction of getting the job done.

Big changes have taken place since Mr Alexander started looking after the radios for the former Hume Shire in 1973.

On Monday, Greater Hume Shire Mayor Denise Osborne congratulated Mr Alexander on a well deserved award.

“George was the Hume Shire Council’s works engineer and started in the service as a deputy Fire Controller to support Bill McDonald who was the Fire Control Officer - the Fire Service component was a peripheral role,” Cr Osborne explained.

“This role has grown over the years and George has, very much, dedicated himself to the Rural Fire Service.

“He is well respected by the volunteers and Council has developed a strong relationship with him,” she said.

Mr Alexander pointed out - changes to the Fire Service Act in 1997 and 2001 resulted in Rural Fire Service staff becoming employees of the NSW State Government instead of local government although “we report to councils as they provide funding for the service.

“Technology has come a long way - we have aeroplanes to assist us with fire fighting, the latest personnel protective equipment and a modern tanker fleet,” he said.

Communications have evolved from CB radios on local networks to being able to talk to tankers anywhere in NSW.