WITH almost 50 years of firefighting experience, Colin James has been awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) and also nationally recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honour List.

The AFSM is a prestigious award among the highest honours for emergency services personnel with recipients chosen based on their impact on innovation, leadership and incident response.

Mr James said he received a letter in April from the Honours Committee in Canberra to tell him he had been nominated.

“They asked if I was prepared to accept the award and, of course, I said yes,” he said.

“And then four weeks ago, I received the letter saying, ‘Yes, the Governor-General has approved your name and it will be announced in the King’s Birthday Honours List’.”

Mr James started volunteering as a firefighter in 1978 with the Darlington Bush Fire Brigade.

He later became a captain and lieutenant and served as a councillor for the Shire of Mundaring – a position he held for 16 years.

Since 1998, he has volunteered with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Air Operations Teams as an air base manager, coordinating the logistics of helicopter landing sites and aircraft water refilling.

This role led him to the Black Summer bushfires in 2019, where he had to ensure more than 20 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft could refill and deploy without delay.

But Mr James said the achievement he is most proud of is the Darlington Bushfire Ready Group, which he created in 1996.

“More than 40 streets are part of the group and it’s those people, those residents, that are actually doing all the preparedness and taking the risks to make sure Darlington is as safe as it can be,” he said.

“It’s really all about the community working for the community.”

The Perth Hills region is recognised as one of the areas at highest risk of bushfire in the metropolitan area.

“My advice to young volunteer firefighters starting out is to always be prepared for the risk,” he said.

“But also know that you will enjoy it.

“It’s a great and welcoming community filled with men and women working together to keep others safe.”

He also hopes to continue working for his community in the near future.

“I’ve been with the fire brigade and the Mundaring Shire Council for many years and I’ve done a lot of things for the emergency services, so I feel very honoured to receive this award,” he said.

The Governor of Western Australia will present Mr James with his medal at a ceremony scheduled for September.