As the NSW Northern Tablelands and Shoalhaven burned in the spring and December of 2019, Judy Moore repeatedly left her Eurobodalla Road home to help.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
She left it once more on December 30, knowing she might never again see it.
A day earlier, in the Moruya Fire Control incident room, the RFS deputy captain and radio operator was preparing for the Section 44 emergency which had just been declared.
The hungry Badja Fire was burning west of the home she shared with husband Michael, who was recovering from radiotherapy for a neck tumour.
She checked the fire map and thought, "Oooh, that looks bad".
It looked even worse on her shift the following day and she told colleagues: "I think I have to leave."
She rang to warn Michael and returned home to pack: "We took a suitcase and our dog."
By 6am the next morning, New Year's Eve, their home west of Waincourt was no more.
It was Michael's birthday. By 8am on January 1, Deputy Captain Moore was back in the operations room.
A volunteer for 32 years, she knew supporting firefighters was vital.
READ MORE:
She and colleagues such as Captain Danielle Brice, her dear friend, had to know where each truck was and what it needed.
"Our job is hear what is required and try our best to get it," she said.
"The worse the situation gets, I have the ability to be a bit calmer. It is an interesting job and very fulfilling."
Captain Brice described her friend as: "Cool, calm and collected; she knows her job; understands what is going on in the field and can preempt what they need."
Captain Brice said this skill also came to the fore when Deputy Captain Moore managed resources after a double highway fatality near Bodalla later in January.
"She teaches and mentors all our members," Captain Brice said. "I learn from Judy all the time."
Deputy Captain Moore said it was important to switch off: "You do 12-hour shifts. If it gets a bit tense, you say, 'go on, go for a walk'. That is enough and you come back."
Apart from a few days off to regroup and to take Michael to a medical appointment in Canberra, Deputy Captain Moore continued the campaign.
"A house can be replaced," she said. "There are stupid little things you miss. Me being left-handed, I realise 'oh, no, I have to buy that again'. I was just pleased that we could get out.
"Our plan was to leave early and you must stick to your plan." Recovery has come on two levels: "We went to the doctors and everything is good, and we just got our DA passed."
The couple is rebuilding.