Ashley Sullivan’s boots were polished, dress uniform ironed and hair styled.

The SES fleet manager and Kiama volunteer was meticulously prepared for the 9 September ceremony at Government House, where he was due to receive the prestigious Emergency Services Medal as part of the King’s Birthday awards.

“The weather was horrendous,” says Ashley. “So I gave myself an extra 45 minutes contingency time to drive to Sydney because the rain was torrential and I knew the traffic would be bad. I always like to be early and I teach my kids that on time is late.”

Despite his best-laid plans Ashley, who has been an SES volunteer since he was a teenager, and on staff since 2010, ended up being late for the ceremony; but for good reason.

He was the first on scene at a serious car crash on an isolated stretch of road north of Helensburgh. When a car aquaplaned in front of him and slammed into a rock wall Ashley did not hesitate, springing into first responder mode to help the injured driver.

Ashley grabbed his radio and called for help before comforting the driver, who had been knocked unconscious by the car’s airbag and was struggling to breathe.

“There was a bit of smoke coming from the front of the car and one of the front doors was severely damaged so I just sat with the driver and kept her calm until help arrived,” he says. “I was in constant communication with the ambos and fire and rescue but the weather was horrendous so help was a while away.”

For the next 30 minutes, Ashley - who was now “absolutely drenched” - stayed with the driver while his children, on their way to see their dad presented with his award, watched him in action.

“I did stop and think for a minute ‘oh do I really want to meet the Governor drenched to the core?’ but there was no time to change out of my good uniform,” says Ashley.

“I had my full kit in the car but the rain was so torrential it was too late, eventually I put on my wet weather jacket but by that stage everything was soaked through.”

A week after the rescue Ashley received an email from the injured driver, who made a full recovery, thanking him for his help.

“I didn't do anything out of the ordinary,” he says modestly. “I just did what we’re all expected to do as part of being in the emergency services.”

For almost three decades, Ashley has come to the rescue of community members in crisis across the region.

Chances are if you live in the Kiama, Jamberoo or Gerringong and you’ve been hit by torrential flooding, had trees come down in gale-force wind or a roof ripped off in a rare tornado, then Ashley has been part of the SES crew arriving on scene for clean-up, recovery and support duties.

When a series of tornadoes devastated Kiama in 2013 Ashley was one of the first team members on the ground to help with the recovery effort in a scene he described as “like a war zone”.

He has pulled people from cars in rising floodwaters across the state, has used his skill as an SES Fleet Services senior manager to develop unimog vehicles used in deepwater rescues, and co-ordinated the state’s SES response to a NSW Government flood inquiry.

It is no surprise Ashley was awarded the prestigious Emergency Services Medal and in the end he was only 10 minutes late for the awards ceremony.

“It was a worthwhile excuse to be late,” laughs Ashley.

“And I turned the heater up and dried out a bit on the rest of the drive. But my socks were still wet when I shook hands with the governor.”