Jeremy Smith AFSM was promoted to the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner on 21 June 2024 after acting in the role of Acting Chief Officer, Tasmania Fire Service. Jeremy joined the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) in February 1987 as a recruit firefighter. During his 37 years with the TFS he has progressed through the firefighting and leadership ranks holding many leadership roles, including Director Community Fire Safety, Regional Chief South and Acting Deputy Chief Officer. Jeremy has had extensive operational experience in urban and bush firefighting and assisted with the development of the TFS remote area firefighting capability in the early 2000’s. Jeremy is currently a State endorsed level III Incident Controller, a certified NIMS type IV and V Commander and Blue Card Incident Commander. He has been deployed to bushfire operations, Incident Management and coordination roles throughout Tasmania, interstate (New South Wales (2001) Victoria (2009), and Queensland (2018) and in North America in 2008 and 2012. Jeremy has undertaken the role of State Fire Controller during the extensive fire seasons of 2013, 2015-16 and 2019.
Jeremy has been the Executive Officer for the State Fire Management Council, the Tasmanian representative on the National Aerial Firefighting Centres (NAFC) Fire and Emergency Aviation Technical Group (FEATG), AFAC Rural and Land Management Group and the National Board for the development of the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System. He has made a significant contribution to Bushfire Interoperability in Tasmania through his leadership of the Multi-Agency Coordination Group which has increased Tasmania’s capacity, not only to respond to fires effectively across all tenures, but also to maximise the level of preparedness across agencies.
Updates from the Fire and Emergency Group
Champions of Change Fire & Emergency
Chris Beattie is a Member of the Champions of Change Fire & Emergency Group which was established in 2017 in partnership with the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC). The group includes Chief Executives and Commissioners leading more than 30 agencies responsible for fire, emergency and land management services across Australia and New Zealand. The group is committed to advancing gender equity, inclusive cultures and achieving significant and sustainable improvements in the representation of women in their workplaces.