The hardships and dedication of volunteer firefighters across NSW has been immortalised with a mural on the Port Macquarie breakwall.
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The acrylic painting of a volunteer firefighter caring for a koala and cockatoo was created by Port Macquarie 17 year-old Laura Dean.
Ms Dean said she wants no recognition for the work and visitors should instead think about the current bushfire situation across the state.
"After all the fires and everything going on I wanted to pay tribute to the all the firefighters and families who have been affected," she said.
"It's been pretty devastating and I just wanted to thank them.
"It's about people seeing it and thinking about what's happening with the bushfires, what people are going through.
"You just have to be thankful for what you've got because you don't know what you've got until it's gone.
"I'd like people to see it and just be thankful for all the hard work our firefighters are doing in these tough times."
The mural which took five hours to complete is the second one to honour firefighters in Port Macquarie.
Artists Brad Collins and Todd Bourke completed a wall mural on the side of Dark Alley Collectables to support the work of the NSW Rural Fire Service during the same week.
Their painting draws inspiration from layout of a vintage 1977 movie poster of Star Wars: A New Hope.
Ms Dean said she hadn't put much planning into her painting but was glad local artists were taking up the same idea.
"I think it's great to see other murals going up around town because it's good we can remind people of what's going on," she said.
"Originally I'd sketched a photo in a little notepad and wasn't going to do anything with it. But I was down at the beach and had paint in my car so I just decided to start painting.
"Now people can see it and say thanks to the firefighters as well."
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