Captain Damian Buchtmann has been working for Port Macquarie Fire and Rescue NSW as a retained firefighter for the last eight and a half years.
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In that time he has attended thousands of call outs - many traumatic, but many rewarding.
And every day he has the love and support of his wife Maree and their two children Emily and Mitchell.
Having calling an end to a career installing kitchens, the 47-year-old was a late bloomer but knew he had it in him to don the yellow suit and give back to his community.
He progressed from retained firefighter, to deputy captain and in the last three years, has captained the station.
Admittedly, he said it is very difficult for families of retained firefighters.
"We're called at a moment’s notice and you have to drop everything and go," he said.
"That has happened to me thousands of times. We do 800 to 900 calls per year.
"Fire and rescue has really good training and support, so I make good use of that to help deal with the job. There is a lot of mateship in the crews.
"We have ways and means of talking with one another. We aren't going to tragedy and trauma all the time.
"We do a lot of good, uplifting incidents where we have been able to help people with something simple, but we all know what we're in for when we sign up for the job.”
Capt Buchtmann said it takes time to learn the resilience required to cope with trauma and tragedy.
“It helps that I have an amazing and understanding family,” he said.
“My wife in particular is amazing. I could be gone for half an hour or six or seven hours. She accepts that and she understands that. I appreciate it so much.
“When the kids were younger it was difficult. They wanted your attention but you'd have to take off and go to a call.
“Again my wife covered for me. We take two cars to go somewhere just in case we had to go.
“The kids understood from an early age that dad had to go and help someone. It's a very fulfilling job, not only as a firefighter but as a dad.
“My kids often recognise that they're proud of what I do so it is very rewarding and pushes me to do what I do.”
On the brighter side, Capt Buchtmann was happy to reflect on the best part of the job - the satisfaction of saving lives, helping people and bringing them back to a little bit of normality when times are bleak.
“I'm a fairly positive person. I pride myself in knowing I've done the absolute best I can for every situation I attend,” he said.
I pride myself in knowing I've done the absolute best I can for every situation I attend.
- Captain Damian Buchtmann
“I make sure everything is done thoroughly, professionally and correctly so at the end I know I've done my absolute best. That's something that everybody at this fire station is committed to.
“Those tough situations, I think, have light at the end of the tunnel. At the end of the day, houses and cars and materials can be replaced but people can't.
“If everybody gets out alive then that's the most important thing."
From day one Capt Buchtmann has applied for a fulltime firefighter position every year, unable to secure his spot. That was until recently.
He now has a chance to commute to Sydney three times a week, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a firefighter for 40 years.
"It's very tough to get a permanent position with 8000 applicants for 80 to 120 positions every year,” he said.
“The culling is brutal. I was a retained firefighter and applied every year, hoping for a permanent position and now I've finally been successful. I can’t wait.”