BEHIND every volunteer firefighter on the front line, there's a team of people keeping their bellies full and their spirits high.
While Warwick Butcher isn't out battling a blaze, his job is just as important, making sure NSW Rural Fire Service firefighters have the fuel they need to tackle the task ahead.
The Lake Macquarie RFS welfare captain is prepared for anything, it's not uncommon to get a call at 4.30pm needing 100 meals that same evening.
If he can't cook them, it's his job to go and find them - but he's in need of more hands to help out.
"The other brigades, particularly Wyong and I think Gosford have a lot of ladies that help, if they get a call out they can ring one of the ladies and half a dozen drive up and all know what to do," Mr Butcher said.
"I don't have that unfortunately, it would be nice to have it."
Mr Butcher joined the welfare brigade 14 years ago, after he witnessed the devastation fires can bring while living on a farm in Melbourne.
"We had the 2010-11 fires in Victoria, and where I had the farm there was a neighbour across the road with a massive apple orchard and his two sons had houses on the property as well," he said.
"The father was out on the tractor and he burned to death when the fire came through, it was horrible."
During the Kinglake fires, the death of five people at one home devastated Mr Butcher, who went to the memorial service to commemorate their lives.
"It was horrible, I thought after that I better do something, Killingworth Brigade was coming around looking for members and I didn't want to go fighting fires, so I had two choices; catering or communications," he said.
"I didn't really want to sit on a radio so I spoke to the captain for catering and joined straight away."
An accountant by trade, Mr Butcher said welfare volunteers don't need special skills in the kitchen, just a willingness to learn and pitch in.
The team supplies meals on the fireground, during training for NSW RFS volunteers at Cameron Park and when they're out learning new skills on the field.
Sometimes they cook fresh meals on site, other times they pick up large orders from fast food joints nearby.
"We always say home and work are priority, so if I ring and someone has something on that's fine, we're just looking for people who have some time to spare that would like to put back into the community," Mr Butcher said.
"These firefighters can be out there for hours, and if it is ongoing they ring us to provide food for them.
"I think it's pretty important, because a lot of them haven't had food if they get an emergency call out and they need to be fed and watered."
Mr Butcher said part of the reason he got involved is because he "can't sit still" - but he also really enjoys managing and providing meals for others.
For firefighters, the lunch break is a welcome pause from hours of hard work battling a blaze to have a chat with a friendly face, reset and recharge.
"To be honest, the appreciation you get is massive and that means a lot too," Mr Butcher said.
"Particularly with our hamburgers, they say, 'this is the best meal on the fire ground we've ever had'.
"They usually bring in two, three or four trucks at a time and we stay there until the last one's been fed."
A uniform is provided for new members along with First Aid training and a food handling certificate.
Junior members are welcome from age 12 to 18, with full membership permitted from age 16.
For anyone who would like to see how the brigade operates, there will be an open day on Sunday, January 14, from 12 noon to 4pm at Lake Macquarie Fire Control, 1 George Booth Drive, Cameron Park.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering can contact Mr Butcher for more information on 0407 682 785 or via email at w.butcher@bigpond.com.
