Mathoura couple Cam McDonald and Katie Nightingale say they are only alive today because they had working fire alarms.
The Mathoura home they had been renting caught fire last week, and was completely destroyed.
The pair woke to their smoke alarm sounding at around 2.15am on Saturday, July 30.
It gave them enough time to save their dogs, a cat and themselves.
Sadly the couple lost other pets, and most of their belongings in the blaze.
“I can’t stress enough the importance of smoke alarms,” said Katie.
“We woke to the fire alarm and the house was already filled with smoke.
“Once the source of the fire was found, we called the fire brigade and in just 10 minutes the situation had completely changed — It happened so fast.
“But the smoke alarm really did save our lives.”
NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers themselves, Katie and Cam have been on deployments where they have had to save other peoples’ homes.
They never thought it would happen to them.
“You never think it will happen to you until it does,” she said.
“Because it was so out of the blue and we had just woken up, it all felt like a dream.
“Our heads weren’t really in the right place and we didn’t have time to think about a fire plan.
“It was so difficult to comprehend what was happening.”
Katie said a sense of relief washed over them when they saw the fire trucks turn up.
“These are guys we know and fight fires with, so it was such a good feeling when they turned up.”
Due to the remote location of the home, responding fire crews faced a number of challenges upon arrival at the property, including lack of water supply, and freezing temperatures.
But Katie said their efforts allowed them to salvage a few belongings from the fire.
“The firies were able to save our bedroom, so we have most of our clothes and some trinkets and treasures.
“We also have a few boxes from another bedroom, but I haven’t had a chance to go through them yet.”
While Katie and Cam are still coming to terms with the event, they said they were grateful for the outpouring of support from the community.
“Cam and I have been shocked by the amount of support we have received from the community,” Katie said.
“Our friends and family have been amazing and we have even been getting calls from strangers, and many messages on Facebook.
“We have had the week to reflect and are still going through our grief, but we are not the only ones.
“The homeowners have lost a home which had many memories for them.
“The people who lived here before us have also lost something special to them, so it’s certainly been a tough time for a lot of people.”
Katie said going through this has helped them appreciate what they have even more.
“This will help us to become better RFS volunteers,” she said.
“When we are out fighting fires in the future, we know exactly what people are going through and can hopefully help them beyond the firefighting.”
Katie and Cam hope their story will encourage people to get a smoke alarm if they don’t already have one, and to check them frequently.
“It takes five minutes to change a smoke alarm battery — five minutes which can save your life.”
NSW legislation stipulates that smoke alarms must be installed on every level of your home.
These alarms must be placed in hallways near bedrooms. If bedrooms are in different parts of the house, you must have alarms installed in each of these locations.