^{Date Published: 08 Sep 2008 9:35am}

Chief Superintendent Jim Smith, NSW Fire Brigades, has been presented with the Laurie Lavelle Achiever of the Year Award at the 2008 AFAC Bushfire CRC Conference.

Chief Superintendent Smith is a firefighter who championed state smoke alarm legislation to make self-extinguishing cigarettes mandatory.  He pioneered the idea that reduced fire risk cigarettes are an effective fire prevention and safety measure and can save lives and property

After his appointment to the senior rank of Inspector, Smith served in a senior management role in the NSWFB’s north-west region including specialist areas such as training and vocational development and community education.

The Laurie Lavelle Achiever of the Year is awarded to a staff member or volunteer who has undertaken a role within an AFAC member agency and has contributed significantly to enhancing the knowledge or skills, operations, performance or public profile of the fire and emergency services in Australasia.  

This year saw two outstanding candidates for the award so the Nominations Committee decided to present a special recognition award to the runner up.   Glenda Ramage from the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service received the Special Recognition Award for her Smart Sparx community education program.

This year Laurie Lavelle was on hand to present the awards to the winners.