New Superintendent in town: Diarmuid Kinsella takes on top job as new DFES Great Southern superintendent

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has a new boss in the Great Southern, and former district officer Diarmuid Kinsella says he is excited to step into the role of superintendent. Supt Diarmuid Kinsella, known by friends around town as “Muddy”, first started in Albany in 2020 as a district officer, more than a decade after he first joined DFES. He took on his first Albany role after the death of his friend and fellow long-serving DFES officer Rob Lake, who had previously served as district officer. Supt Kinsella joined the department as a recruit firefighter in 2008 in Kalgoorlie, and was promoted to station officer before doing a stint in Port Hedland as area officer. He returned to Kalgoorlie when he was promoted to a district officer, and transferred to Albany in 2020, spending the last five years as a district officer for the Great Southern. Supt Kinsella is taking over the region’s top job from Wayne Green, who served as the region’s superintendent since 2016 and has now moved on to another role in the Northern Territory. “Wayne did some fantastic work in the region, particularly in building some relationships with all the stakeholders in the region, and I’m in a lucky space now to be able to continue that,” he said. “Whether that’s with our local governments, Parks and Wildlife, WAPOL, Main Roads, all of our partner agencies, I’m excited to be able to just continue that work.” In his new role, Supt Kinsella manages 11 local government areas, 16 staff in the Albany office, 37 career firefighters in Albany, and more than 5000 volunteer firefighters across the region. “It’s a big region, and obviously our crew work closely with our volunteer fire and rescue crews, State Emergency Service, marine rescue, and with the local government bush fire brigades as well,” Supt Kinsella said. “The biggest priority in my job is probably making sure the team’s ready to go at all times, that we’re prepared for response across the region in any given scenario. “In a big emergency situation, I’ll be parked in here (in the Albany incident control room) alongside our regional duty co-ordinator, who does a lot of the work to send teams out to where they need to be, and I’ll just be providing that overarching strategic guidance for what our teams are doing. “It’s about supporting our crew and making sure the team’s equipped and trained for whatever lands on their plates.” Taking on the role of superintendent is no small ask, but Kinsella said he hoped to take the badge and wear it with pride, meeting the challenges of the job as they came. “There are a few challenges to the job, the stakes can be high sometimes,” he said. “Something I’m passionate about is getting more into that preparedness space, making sure our community is well-educated and understand what the risks are in their area so they can be as prepared as possible for a fire. “That’s something I’m looking forward to taking on more. “We don’t have enough fire trucks to get to every house all at once, so when there is an emergency it’s really important that everyone’s involved where they can be and know how to play their part. “There’s lots of really simple things and that every household can do to get themselves ready.”