QUEENSLAND Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) will welcome a new chief officer of Queensland’s Rural Fire Service (RFS) after a nation-wide, highly competitive recruitment search.
Ben Millington will temporarily fill the role after Mike Wassing took up the 12-month role of Deputy State Recovery Coordinator with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
As a senior emergency service executive, Mr Millington brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from his time in the New South Wales (NSW) RFS and NSW Police Force.
He has significant disaster management, state operations and aviation experience and has worked with Pacific nations to coordinate disaster preparedness. Mr Millington will begin with RFS on 12 February.
Minister for Fire and Disaster Recovery Nikki Boyd said Queensland’s RFS will be a great fit for Mr Millington.
“He has managed some of NSWs’ largest operational responses, including the 2019-20 bushfires which were unprecedented in their scale and intensity,” she said.
“His change management experience will help guide the RFS as the organisation moves towards becoming the Queensland Fire Department.”
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