Popanyinning farmer Tim Haslam, who suffered life changing burns in a bushfire, has been nominated for the prestigious Murray Lang Bush Fire Service Award for his efforts to save others from the same fate.

He is one of 35 finalists across 12 individual and team categories named in the 2026 WA Fire and Emergency Services Awards shortlist.

Mr Haslam was injured on his property in a harvest fire in December 2023 and since recovering has been part of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ lived experience resource pilot project.

In the project, which was launched last year and includes a podcast and eight individual media clips, Mr Haslam gives key safety messages which DFES has used for training and shared widely among the fire-fighting community.

He said speaking about his experiences had been confronting at first, but he is delighted that the message seems to be spreading widely.

“It was tough to face up to the fact that I had made that initial mistake on the day, but it seems a lot of people have heard the podcast,” he said.

“My son was at a buck’s party in Victoria with about 20 blokes and eight of them had heard it.”

His recovery is continuing, and he has enjoyed being part of the DFES project.

“I’m a lot slower than I was — though some of my mates say I was never that quick to start with — and I do get a bit of pain,” he said.

“But I have met some really wonderful people.”

He is conscious that his nomination is not for frontline firefighting.

“It’s nice to be nominated but I’m not going out and talking about it,” he said.

As well as taking part in the DFES project, Mr Haslam has led The Farming Collective’s support of the Fiona Wood Foundation’s Horizon Campaign.

The collective is uniting growers to support burns research and care by donating grain from their 2025 and 2026 harvests to the foundation.

The Murray Lang Award highlights individuals or brigades who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and service to their communities.

Mr Haslam is nominated alongside Paul Lloyd, of Crossman Bush Fire Brigade, and Waterloo’s Chris Hynes.

The winner will be named at a ceremony in Perth, in September.