"They let you know in advance that you've been nominated - and you have to agree to that before they go any further," the Cape Clear CFA captain said.

"But then the other day I got a message saying that I'd been accepted.

"You just go, 'wow'."

The priceless 40-year CFA veteran is unsure who "dobbed him in" but reckons he's narrowed it down to about three people.

"I'm very humbled - but this has only happened because of the good people I have around me," Mr Rowe said.

"I've been lucky to have great support at the brigade as well as support from family and friends.

"In fact, I feel like I'm part of a huge family within the CFA. Some of these people are my best mates and the bond is really strong."

Mr Rowe joined as a junior in the Clunes CFA in 1981 and transferred to Cape Clear, south of Ballarat, in 1989.

When it comes to planned burns, the Governor-General's office said he devised a method of burning both sides of the road simultaneously, making it faster and safer for crews, road users and communities.

Other brigades have since picked up the idea and it is now common practice.

In 2015, Mr Rowe wrote a book on the subject - and it is now used across Australia and overseas as a way of preventing fires from spreading into crops.

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He also worked with the CSIRO and Melbourne University to determine the burn-speed for different crops and other types of vegetation in different conditions.

"This was so the rate of spread on bad fire days could be studied," Mr Rowe said.

"No actual physical study had ever been done and it was found that the estimated rates of spread were well off the mark."

During the pandemic, he also helped to organise a series of Women's Burn Days, allowing 170 female firefighters to learn new skills in an encouraging environment.

"What started as a skills experience for women has benefited the lives of innumerable CFA women - and subsequently their daughters," he said.

"(It's been a program) where they could talk to each other about being part of what was traditionally a man's world and the types of discrimination and disrespect some of them were experiencing."

Women's burn camps are now being organised across the CFA - and the District 15 (Ballarat) Women's Reference Group has nominated him as a "Champion of Change".

"Mr Rowe is passionate about protecting his community," a spokesperson from the Governor-General's office said.

"By using and sharing his knowledge of controlled burning, he has created a mindset change within brigades and the wider CFA community.

"Those who have benefited from his passion and knowledge stand by in saluting him."

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