ALMOST four decades of volunteer work has earned David King an emergency services medal.
His medal was announced in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his contribution to the state’s SES.
The Hawkesbury SES volunteer and deputy controller was recognised for his 38 years of service in authoring numerous training resources and publications for the state’s vertical rescue, road crash, flood rescue, driving and large animal rescue units.
Mr King is also the founding member of the general land rescue team which turns 30 in October.
The 55-year-old joined the Gosford SES at 17 and moved to the Hawkesbury unit in 1981.
He remembers saying: ‘‘I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave’’.
Just under 40 years later, Mr King is still going with no plans to slow down. Working by day as a food technologist, he is known for his fast-paced lifestyle.
He said he was ‘‘always a million miles an hour; I’m either flat out or asleep’’.
The passionate volunteer said he couldn’t picture himself doing anything else in life.
‘‘I must say I have the most rewarding job, making a difference in people’s lives every day,’’ Mr King said.
‘‘I have seen the best and worst of humanity in my years. This has helped me train people and tell stories from the heart of what I have seen. Spend a day in our lives and you’ll see why we volunteer for the community.’’
As an active duty operations officer for road crash rescue, Mr King has responded to some of Hawkesbury’s most tragic situations.
He recalls having to cut a deceased teenager out of the car with her hand still holding a CD in the player.
‘‘Sometimes I wish I could just erase those horrible scenes from my head, but I can’t.’’ Mr King wears two hats, one as a deputy controller for the Hawkesbury SES and the other as a deputy captain at Tennyson Rural Fire Brigade where he’s volunteered for 30 years.
More recently, he has become a staff member of the Rural Fire Service (RFS) in remote area firefighting and specialised operations.
He said nature shows some mercy. ‘‘When there’s bushfires, we rarely have floods and when there’s floods, we rarely have bushfires’’.
The state’s SES commissioner, Adam Dent, said Mr King was the definition of a humble quiet achiever, whose dedication, professionalism and expertise had been a constant in shaping the service.
“His boundless energy and generous ability to mentor others has endeared him across the breadth of the organisation and I’m delighted his contribution has been recognised with this award,” Mr Dent said.
