Rodney Stevens
Clarence Valley Rural Fire Service Group Captain, Scott Campbell has been awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal for distinguished service as a member of an Australian fire service in the 2025 Australia Day Honours.
Since joining the Lawrence Rural Fire Brigade in 2007, Mr Campbell has served as a Deputy Captain, Senior Deputy Captain, Captain, Secretary, representative and President of the NSW Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA), community engagement officer, training officer, equipment officer, first aid officer and permit officer, and has been instrumental in saving hundreds of local lives.
He told the CV Independent joining the RFS was a natural progression when he moved from Queensland to Lawrence in 2007, as his in-laws were RFS members at Taylors Arm, near Nambucca Heads.
“It was always something I had wanted to do, then the local Captain, who also happened to be the local electrician, came around and I got a quote to wire up the shed, and before he left, I was a member of the RFS,” he said.
Mr Campbell has been instrumental in local and regional training for a decade and as a Marshall at the NSW Rural Fire Service Region North Exercise and Australian Fire Cadet Championships.
He has driven the Secondary Schools Cadet Program across the Clarence Valley, helping increase the youth membership of local brigades.
Appointed a deputy group officer in 2019, Mr Campbell is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and was part of the pioneering ‘Your Health Matters’ initiative and is currently the elected president of the RFSA.
As a strike team leader, divisional commander, sector commander and crew leader, he continues to serve locally and on interstate deployments, including twice as a strike team leader to the Piliga in 2015 and to the Namoi Gwydir District, the Northern Tablelands, Wambelong in the Warrumbungle National Park, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland.
During the 2019-2020 catastrophic fire season, Mr Campbell was a divisional commander in the Clarence Valley District providing exceptional service to other firefighters and the community during the most difficult of times.
In the 2019 Nymboida fires, Mr Campbell, who is an unpaid volunteer to this day, led all local RFS brigades and strike teams from NSW and Queensland in an unprecedented firestorm.
He told the CV Independent it was the most intense day of his life as he strived to protect RFS volunteers, the community, and their assets, while facing something he had never encountered before.
A natural leader, the NSW RFS said Mr Campbell encourages his peers to give their best and search for the optimum outcome.
Mr Campbell said he contributes on average an unpaid 20 to 30 hours a week to the NSW Rural Fire Service Association President role, and his position as the Clarence Valley RFS Group Commander.
A recipient of the NSW Commissioner’s Commendation for Individual Bravery in 2021, Mr Campbell is an exemplary citizen who dedicates countless hours to the community and will feature in future stories.