Richard Harris

Vale Richard Patrick Harris 26-9-1954 to 27-12-2012 Richard Patrick Harris was born on the 26th September 1954, to Les and Wilma Harris. He was educated at the Nyngan High School until his employment with Railcorp where he was employed for 37 years. Richard is survived by his wife Melody, children Angela, Sean, Samantha, Krystal, Katrina and his sister Robyn. During his residency in the Blue Mountains he joined the NSW Fire Brigades as a Retained fire-fighter on the 1st July 1987; he rose to the rank of Captain for his brigade in 1998, which is an exceptional achievement in its own right and medically retired, August 2012 when he was transferred to the Honorary List. Retained fire-fighters are special people, who give up much of their personal time to protect their local communities, FRNSW and the residents of the Blue Mountains will always be indebted to Richard for his tireless work and dedication throughout his long and successful career and his memory will continue to live on in years to come. During his distinguished career of more than 25 years with Fire & Rescue NSW Richard was awarded; 1992 – Commendation for the handling of the Cyanide spillage at Condobolin. 1994 – Commendation for service during the New Year state-wide bushfires. 1997 – Unit commendation for meritorious service during the Lithgow Fires. 2002 – Unit commendation for meritorious service at the Bedford Road, Woodford bushfire. 2009 – Commemorative pin and letter of appreciation for the Black Saturday Bushfire Campaign. “A person can only be judged by how they lived their life and how they are remembered by the people they leave behind. The honour guard of the 80 plus FRNSW retained and permanent fire-fighters from throughout NSW is indicative of Richards’ positive impact on all who attended his funeral service on the 4th January 2013.” Superintendent Tom Milburn – FRNSW