General News
13 June, 2024
Former local James Mullins awarded Order of Australia medal for his contribution to firefighting
The secret behind receiving one of the country’s highest honours could be in the number of hats you wear — at least that seems to be the case for former Maryborough local, James Mullins. Owing to the work he’s done between donning his CF...
The secret behind receiving one of the country’s highest honours could be in the number of hats you wear — at least that seems to be the case for former Maryborough local, James Mullins.
Owing to the work he’s done between donning his CFA helmet for more than 30 years, and putting on his Chief Technology Officer tag for a revolutionary company he founded, Dr Mullins was awarded the Order of Australia medal this week.
He was named in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours List “for significant service to science, and to the community through an emergency response organisation”.
This venture — FLAIM, uses technology to virtually replicate real-world situations to train and equip firefighters with necessary, and potentially life-saving skills.
Dr Mullins, who is a third-generation firey, used his knowledge of both firefighting and advanced “engineering principles” to develop the training solution.
Nearly a decade after he first started work on the project, hundreds of thousands of firefighters have already used the product.
Now, Dr Mullins’ continuing dedication to the field has been recognised, much to his surprise.
“It’s a little bit surreal,” he said.
“I was shocked and it’s obviously a great honor to receive the award but I must admit, it’s very unexpected.
“A couple of weeks ago I heard I was nominated and then recently found out that I was successful so I’m still coming to terms with it — and while it’s amazing, I’ve never done what I do to get [rewarded].”
According to Dr Mullins, the medal also hangs as an acknowledgment of the work he and his colleagues have put into the company — to make a difference.
“It definitely goes to show that we as a team have built an amazing capability here in Australia,” he said.
“Our technology is used in nearly 50 countries, and it’s great to see us sending some tech back the other way for a change because we normally import a lot of it into the country.
“It’s really hard to train firefighters accurately and it usually involves travelling large distances, it also means you take your fire-fighters away from their response area — but our [virtual reality] system gets rid of those problems.”
Having lived in Maryborough for 18 years, before he moved away for university in 1999, Dr Mullins dismissed any myths about growing up in small towns.
“Me receiving this medal is a testament to the fact that it doesn’t matter where you live,” he said.
“It’s about surrounding yourself with great people and doing something you’re passionate about.
“I went to the tech school in Maryborough, as it was back in the day, and I loved every minute of it. I had some amazing teachers that supported my journey — so I don’t think we can consider ourselves at all disadvantaged by being in a town like that.”
Among that local support system, were Dr Mullins’ dad and mum, Dan and Dianne, who sadly passed away in September 2022.
To this date, she is remembered as a true champion of the community.
“I was lucky to grow up in an environment where they supported my creativity,” Dr Mullins said.
“Because of them and my grandparents, I grew up thinking I could do pretty much anything I set my mind to.
“I genuinely believe that there’s not much that we as individuals can’t do if we ask the right questions — that’s my advice to the younger generation, to be excited to learn.”