He was presented with his Humanitarian Overseas Services Medal during the NSW Ambulance awards at the Zenith Theatre in Chatswood on Wednesday.

He said it was a wonderful experience and nice to be recognised.

"There were 13 people receiving overseas service medals but there were also quite a lot of ambulance officers who were getting long service medals and public recognition. It was quite a big day, the theatre was full," Mr Steppat said.

Mr Steppat, who works with the Western and Far West Local Health Districts, spent 10 days providing assistance, training the EHOs in Samoa and checked water supplies, food levels and created strategies to manage other issues that arose.

"In 2009 after the tsunami in Samoa they were looking for environmental health officers to lead teams in the affected areas, doing environmental audits on food, shelter and water," he said.

"The survivors moved into the hills in case there was another tsunami but there was no water up there, no toilet facilities so we had a team that went up there and my team and another 33 villages in 10 days, doing audits of what was required.

"When we arrived they were still carting out bodies and injured people so it was full on. We were doing 12 hour days, driving to the other side of the island, working our way through and going back after it got dark and debriefing."

He said he would have no hesitation in volunteering for a similar mission if it arose again.

"I belong to AusMAT, which is the Australian Medical Assistance team and also on the register of the Australian Civil Core with DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs and trade]," he said.

Mr Steppat has also been involved in a number of other emergency response teams including during bushfires and floods around Dubbo, as well as in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. He has also participated in Pacific Partnership 2011, an annual Humanitarian Civic Assistance program sponsored by the Commander US Pacific Fleet.