Even on the worst day of their life, the people receiving help from emergency services show generosity.
Emergency Services Agency members can't always stop and accept the offers of cups of tea and coffee from grateful people living in storm-stricken or fire-threatened homes.
But they're thankful, and as they remind some residents, they're there to help.
ACT State Emergency Service volunteer Tristan Peemoeller was in the crowd as Emergency Services Agency and Parks and Conservation members were awarded and named Canberra's citizens of the year on Monday.
The long summer of choking bushfire smoke, interrupted by a hailstorm that pocked large parts of Canberra, had him appreciating the little things after the ceremony at John Dunmore Lang Place, Parkes.
"It's great having the green grass, it makes you forget just how dry it was and it's just nice that that changed," Mr Peemoeller said.
"You think that it will never rain again sometimes, and it's good when it does."
The ACT SES Belconnen unit volunteer said the combination of fire and hail forced him and his team members to switch gears.
READ MORE:Tributes flow for heroes of the summer the ACT 'will never forget'
He was on a team that worked from 10pm to about 6am the next day to patch up roofs shredded by hail. Long after the January 20 storm, the tarps are reminders of its damage to Canberra.
SES and Rural Fire Service volunteer Brendan Mace's fire season started earlier when he helped fight fires in northern NSW.
He later volunteered at Braidwood, Nerriga, Adaminaby and Shannons Flat, before helping fight the Orroral Valley fire that threatened Canberra homes from late January.
The volunteer at Rivers RFS brigade and the Woden SES unit said it felt good to be acknowledged.
"We like being available to help our community and make everyone feel safe or as safe as they could possibly be, and to help them in their worst possible time to get past that," he said.
Mr Mace was grateful to his employer for giving him the time off to volunteer during the bushfire season.
The summer had him balancing his work, personal and volunteering responsibilities, and the strength of the relationship between different emergency services would show then.
On some days he would wake at 5.30am for work, finish at 4pm, and volunteer with the RFS or SES.
The SES would drive firefighters back home to help them manage their fatigue, something Mr Peemoeller said it was very happy to do.
"As volunteers we want to help out our friends in the RFS and some people say we've got a bit of a rivalry sometimes, but we always love working together and that was something that we could do to make sure they got home safe," he said.
Chiefs of the ACT's Ambulance Service, Fire and Rescue, Parks and Conservation, Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service and Emergency Services Agency collected the 2020 citizen of the year awards on behalf of their members on Monday evening.
