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HERO isn't a word that should be used lightly.
But it's also a word that doesn't do justice to the work thousands of Rural Fire Service volunteers just like Kyll Goodsell do in the face of any bushfire emergency.
Mr Goodsell, along with father Ian and son Nathan are three of a team of about 400 that have been on the frontline on the Mid-North Coast.
He was on the front line on Saturday night when the Lindfield Park Road fire jumped the Oxley Highway and tore up Carlie Jane Drive.
More than 20 years in the brigade meant Mr Goodsell remained calm inside the truck despite being surrounded by flames on either side.
It's what experience does, despite the visibility being zero due to the thick smoke.
"It's not my first big fire so you know how to deal with it on the fireground better," he said.
"I've dealt with a lot of big fires and a lot of my training comes into vogue and because I've committed to the fire brigade you do a lot of training."
He admitted safety was always the most important aspect of being a firefighter, regardless of how long you've been around.
It's important to stay calm and don't let your emotions take over; that's the biggest one.
- Kyll Goodsell
Experience also helps in being able to "read" fires. It also helps calm the nerves.
"You've got to know how to read stuff to deal with it and the sad part is a lot of people haven't seen a big fire so they don't know how to deal with it," Mr Goodsell said.
"It's important to stay calm and don't let your emotions take over; that's the biggest one.
"If you know where the fire is going to funnel channel in the local area, it's a hell of a good wicket to be on."
Growing up in south-west Sydney and around the bush meant it was an easy decision to join the RFS two decades ago.
"I was down in Campbelltown when it was bush, got up here and it was a whole different ball game; you go from childhood into an adult real quick," he said.
"If I'm going to attempt to save my house or anyone else's, I needed to join up and that's where I started 20 years ago."
If I'm going to attempt to save my house or anyone else's, I needed to join up and that's where I started 20 years ago.
- Kyll Goodsell
Mr Goodsell was blown away by the amount of residents who visited the Lake Innes station on Monday night.
"I was overwhelmed," he said.
"We must have had about 100 people down there supporting, giving and wanting to join up and asking what they can do."
And on Tuesday morning ahead of predicted catastrophic fire conditions across New South Wales, Mr Goodsell was running around the home providing daughter Kacia with last-minute instructions.
"I've got a spare hour so I'm trying to prep my house as best as I can before the front comes through," he said.
And what was his message not only for the current fire situation, but any future ones?
"I don't want to create hysteria; it's a matter of people staying calm," he said.
"We deal with it and we're dealing with it a lot better today than we did 20-odd years ago."
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