Coonabarabran's Rodney Coombes has been awarded a National Emergency medal this Australia Day.

Mr. Coombes, captain of Coonabarabran Volunteer Rescue Association, told the Western Plains App he was "proud and overwhelmed that people have recognised the great work the VRA does." 

The 51-year-old is from Geelong in Victoria. He first visited Coonabarabran in 1988 on holidays after finishing high school. There he met the woman who would become his wife.

"We moved to Geelong, but after a couple of years, we decided we would head back to Coonabarabran, a place he says is a "fantastic country town, nice bushlands, open plains, lots of mountains, its just a nice area".

He said one night, about 18 years ago he went to help out a friend with the VRA on a storm job.

"One rainy and blistery night, soon enough I had a VRA application in my hand".

Within the first six months as a member Rodney received his rescue accreditation number from the State Rescue Board, a feat that is rarely done.

With this accreditation, he was permitted to carryout operational duties at callouts. Before his first 18 months was out, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Captain and, soon after, Captain. 

Rodney's achievements along the way included securing funding for Jaws of Life machinery as well as designing and building a new shed where he donated a large amount of building supplies from his own stocks to keep costs down.  

Mr Coombes is now Operations Manager for the Western Region, where he works with nine squads involving about 130 people.

"I make sure they are well trained, well equipped, liaise with all the other services, make sure all the unit is well maintained, I make sure everyone is well-fed and well-maintained, we make sure everyone's mental wellbeing is ok."

Ensuring the volunteer's mental well-being is a particular passion of his.

"We support them on the coalface, then we debrief in the shed, then we will bring critical incident people in to keep an eye on them to see if they are struggling. We look at their body language and their demeanor; we make sure they are very well looked after."

All in all, he says there is "no better feeling than looking back at a job well done. What the VRA does for the community is second to none".