Local FRNSW firefighters help combat bushfire crisis near Lithgow

The pair were deployed for five days joining strike team Lima with crews from Dubbo, Narrendra, Gilgandra and Griffith.

On day one the pair were based near the Zig Zag railway and coal mine at Lithgow, but were then shifted into Lithgow where they set up around a number of houses under threat.

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The next day they were then sent back to Clarence and Dargan where they were placed on property protection.

"It was an eye-opener," Mr McCelland said.

"On Saturday we got sent to Dargan and they sent us to property protection along the houses, we were there and that's when [fire] come over the top of us and there were a fair few houses that got lost."

Both firefighters said they had never experienced anything quite like the large-scale fires and said they would "definitely" help out again.

"It was a good experience but not a good experience at the same time," Mr McCelland said.

"You just throw your water into the fire and it just evaporates that's how hot it was.

"They had planes coming over the top of us which helped out a lot ... it was a good eye opener and good to learn bushfire techniques."

The pair said their strike team consisted of five trucks, and were supported by four other FRNSW strike teams and crews from the Rural Fire Service.

"We haven't seen anything like that out here ... like the different terrain, the wind and the hills, it's just completely different," Mr Bennett said.

"It's a good experience ... just experiencing different techniques from different firefighters, everyone knows different things."