IAN LOCKLEY and SHARON KEARNEY Australian Fire Service Medal and Emergency Services Medals HELPING people is all in a day's work for NT Fire and Rescue Service district officer Ian Lockley and NT Emergency Service volunteer Sharon Kearney. The pair said receiving their respective awards was a surprise. 
"I just was a bit taken aback by it," Mr Lockley said.
The firefighter has been in the NTFRS for 37 years and has worked his way up through the ranks, starting out on the trucks.
"I do miss going out on the trucks but I'm also a fire investigator so once the fire has been through, I get to go and figure out why it occurred so I still get to interact with the troops," he said. Mr Lockley said it takes dedication and commitment to be involved in the NTFRS.
"It's rewarding, while it does have its moments," he said.
Ms Kearney joined the NT Emergency Service in   March 2009 and has been a unit officer since 2013.
She said the volunteer work has been both rewarding and difficult, particularly when she and another volunteer located a tourist in a national park.
Despite being in a wheelchair, Ms Kearney said her work isn't very different to any other volunteer.
"I just contribute in other ways," she said."I'm careful of what situations I'm in. But I've got a superb team around me."