Emergency award

FIRE Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley was awarded one of 35 Public Service Medal’s in Monday’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
He received the honour for “outstanding public service to the community through the improvement of the emergency management sector”.
Much of his work has included improvements to bushfire management in the Dandenongs.
Mr Lapsley’s award citation said he had made a significant difference across the community and government.
“From a grass roots level as a Country Fire Authority volunteer to a senior executive level of State Government, and as the fire services commissioner,” it read.
“Mr Lapsley has provided excellent service to the community by ensuring co-ordination between emergency services and relevant authorities and he has promoted exceptional leadership, accountability and integration within the fire and emergency management sector.”
His spokeswoman Natalie Staaks said he prided himself on being “a dynamic leader in the emergency management industry and is a strong believer in the integration of the community into all levels of emergency management in an all hazards, all agencies approach”.
Mr Lapsley has worked in emergency services management and emergency response for 30 years, starting out as a volunteer firefighter.
He rose through the CFA ranks to become a deputy chief officer, has overseen state operations in the New South Wales (NSW) Fire Brigade, and also transformed the Victorian State Emergency Services (SES) from a government department to a statutory authority.
In 2007 Mr Lapsley left the CFA to become the health and human services emergency management director, playing a lead role in Victorian recovery efforts following the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
He became Victoria’s first fire services commissioner in 2010 – the state controller for major fires in Victoria and the most senior operational firefighter in the state.
In this role he’s also responsible for developing a three-year rolling reform program for the CFA, MFB, and DSE, developing and reviewing performance standards and incident management training.