Dubbo's Corinne Ilievski is unlikely to ever forget the bushfire at Cooma that made pyrocumulus clouds as she drove into the town to assist last summer.
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"As I was approaching the town it got darker, it was quite eerie... the darkness was illuminated by the glow of the fire, but I couldn't tell where exactly it was," she said.
"When I arrived it was raining ash, the sky was pitch black and ash covered the roads."
But the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) employee says what's really shaped her during 10 years at the Orana Fire Control Centre has been the "great mentors and really inspiring team members" as well as wonderful volunteers she's worked alongside.
Now Mrs Ilievski has "taken a leap" in her career to make a greater contribution to the overall organisation.
She is the new operations officer in operational capability at the NSW RFS Training Academy at Dubbo, with a focus on "more staff development and staff training".
"So the position came up and it was the middle of the fire season and it was hectic, but I thought how can I use those skills and experiences to benefit other people," Mrs Ilievski said.
Two weeks into the new role she expressed her gratitude for the environment she found in the RFS right from the start a decade ago.
"So the longer I was there, the more opportunities arose and I had a fantastic team who were very encouraging and supportive, so I took the leap and now I'm here," Mrs Ilievski said.
Mrs Ilievski has worked in a number of roles within the RFS's Orana team, most recently as district assistant.
Highlights in that time have included working in community engagement and hazard reduction, particularly for the woman who grew up in the rural area of Ballimore.
"It has been rewarding getting to know the volunteers and I have formed some beautiful memories and relationships that have helped shape the direction of my career," Mrs Ilievski said.
"Assisting some of the local schools with our Secondary School Cadet Program has been a great fun and developing hazard reduction plans and working with communities that are at high risk of bushfires has been a highlight."
Mrs Ilievski said there had been little rest for the district team in the past year.
"I think last bushfire season I spent more time away from home than I did at home, but I have a really supportive husband and he was amazing with getting the kids to school and looking after them while I was gone," she said.
The home-grown talent has also given the RFS a wholehearted recommendation to anyone looking for a "rewarding" job.
"I would say the RFS is a great organisation to work for, it's a large organisation and there are so many possibilities and opportunities that exist in the organisation," Mrs Ilievski said.
The NSW RFS will shortly advertise 100 extra mitigation crew positions for 25 new crews across the state, including one at Dubbo.
The NSW government has allocated more than $45 million in additional funding to prepare for the next bushfire season.