Firefighters at the South West Rocks Rural Fire Brigade (SWRRFB) were brought to tears by seven-year-old Callum, who dedicated his holiday time to selling his paintings to raise funds for the men and women keeping our towns safe.
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With his trusty paint brushes in hand, Callum spent days painting and selling his pictures and the proceeds were donated to the local brigade.
The Sydney resident, who was holidaying in South West Rocks, put up a sign at his campsite explaining his goal and quickly found interested buyers.
The generous youngster managed to raise an impressive $905 and SWRRFB captain Ross Hudson couldn't control his emotions when Callum donated the money to the firefighters.
"Callum's generosity is marvellous, his donation brought a tear to my eye and it wasn't just myself but the other firefighters as well," Cpt Hudson told the Argus.
"The effort and thought he put in to help us means a lot. It was his idea too, his parents told us he just wanted to do something to contribute."
The actions of Callum provide motivation for the exhausted firefighters to continue their battle with blazes in a long and relentless bushfire season.
The SWRRFB has been tackling the Carrai East fire since it was ignited by lightning strike in August last year.
The brigade were involved on the brutal Friday November 8 day, when the inferno destroyed homes in and around Willawarrin.
Cpt Hudson, who has been a volunteer at the SWRRFB since 1991, has never tackled fires as powerful as the ones this bushfire season.
"I have never seen anything like this before and other people have all said the same," Cpt Hudson said.
"The speed at which the fires run is like nothing I have witnessed or experienced before. It's so dry and if you put a match to the ground it will just take off.
"The lightning strikes from the dry storms are starting fires constantly.
"Some days we have been pushed to the limit, we try to rotate and provide rest but there are days when both trucks have to go out and it's definitely taken a toll."
While the Carrai East fire, which claimed the life of Barry Parsons, destroyed 57 homes and burnt through more than 145,000 hectares, is under control, Cpt Hudson concedes the bushfire season is far from over.
"The fire near Kempsey is relatively under control now but we are still on standby for other regions. I have been down to the Hunter and out to Inverell on recent weekends and other members have been to Tamworth," Cpt Hudson said.
"There's no end in sight. There's still a long way to go this summer and the only thing that can provide real relief is consistent and substantial rain."
The $905 donated by Callum will allow the SWRRFB to replace and upkeep the equipment which has been used daily for the past five months.
The SWRRFB is looking for volunteers and interested people can contact Ross on 0429 469 009.
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