Recent flooding has highlighted a serious shortage of volunteers in the zone.

Up to 60 tried and true volunteers in the zone were deployed internally to keep residents of communities such as Moree and Tamworth safe.

The zone also drew on flood rescue resources from outside its boundaries including police from NSW and SES technicians from Queensland and South Australia.

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Dubbo-based zone commander David Monk tells of prospective volunteers turning on their heels after asking and learning that they "don't get paid".

He is keen to see them give it a try, knowing the rewards of service to the community outweigh sacrifices.

Chief Superintendent Monk says existing volunteers "can't get enough of it".

"But we need lots more," he said. "Volunteering is really sad at the moment. People don't want to volunteer any more.

"We would certainly encourage more volunteers to join. We are always looking for volunteers."

There are 1400 volunteers in 72 units across the zone which Chief Superintendent Monk says extends from "Tenterfield in the north down to Wentworth in the south and then all the way up to Tibooburra".

"I'd like to double that number but obviously it's up to the communities," he told the Daily Liberal.

The zone commander suggests the struggle to recruit and train volunteers for emergencies comes down to people's lifestyles "now", their work and "personal time pressures".

"We're not the only ones," Chief Superintendent Monk said.

"I'm aware of pretty much every volunteer agency in the Central West suffering from the same situation at the moment..very much low on volunteer numbers and very hard to recruit and retain them."

The zone commander said Dubbo's SES volunteers were "becoming stretched when we have events such as this".

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