It's been 46 years since Moruya gentleman Bruce Smith signed up with the Moruya Rural Fire Service, but it's unlikely he will forget the charmed efficiency of the old days of fire fighting.

Mr Smith remembers screeching to a stop outside some of Moruya's finest watering holes, blustering through the doors to yell: "Hey fellas! Wanna go fight a fire?"

Those blokes would down their beers, slide off their stools and jump onto the back of the old Chevy Blitz, their not-so-fire-retardant Bonds singlets and Stubbies shorts the only protection from the heat.

"In the old days, sometimes you'd go out with what you've got on," Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith is one of a few to be awarded an Australian Fire Service Medal this year and make it onto the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

He will be presented with the medal later this year at an Investiture Ceremony at Government House, in Canberra.

In his citation, Mr Smith was praised "as an exceptional officer who has the confidence of the volunteer and salaried members of the service".

"His ability to manage and preserve the safety and well-being of those members under his control during fires and other emergency incidents is above reproach.

"Mr Smith's outstanding contribution to the local community and to the Rural Fire Service far exceeds that which is normally expected of a volunteer member."

In response, Mr Smith said his years with the RFS have all been fun.

"I have really enjoyed it," he said.

"It gets in your blood, and it's hard to get out."

The regulations may have tightened since he began in 1960, but he said the atmosphere of comradeship instilled in him by his first captain, Norm McIntosh, hasn't changed a bit.

Mr Smith still remembers Mr McIntosh's rousing enlistment speech.

"He said to me: 'You've got a bit of land there, you go out and help us'."

Mr Smith has been hooked ever since.

He is currently the deputy group officer, central, and captain of the Moruya Rural Fire Brigade. He was particularly active during the major fires in the Eurobodalla Shire in 1968, 1972, 1988, 1994, 1997, 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 and was also a member of the Strike Team during the 2003 Canberra bushfires.

Mr Smith has also been involved in the catering brigade when not actively involved in the suppression of fires.

Due to his ability as a front line manager and his extensive local knowledge, he was continuously tasked as a fire controller, often in highly volatile and dangerous situations where his performance was nothing less that outstanding throughout.

He is also responsible for the recruitment and training of many junior members of the service.