A yellow and red jet ski smashes through the waves, hurtling towards two teenage girls who have drifted too far from the shore at Ballina.

It's followed quickly by a rubber dinghy, also yellow and red.

In the relatively calm surf, the lifesavers onboard make quick work of the rescue, and they deliver the girls safely back to shore.

I run into the girls later as we wash away the sand and saltwater at the surf club showers.

"That must have been scary," I say.

"It was so cool. It was so much fun getting towed back in," they say, giggling.

Perhaps it's the bravado of youth speaking, but I'm a little taken aback by their reaction.

I look back down the beach towards the lifeguards. I'm not sure if they're laughing.

Australia has two of the largest voluntary organisations in the world - NSW Surf Lifesaving has 20,000 members who work towards keeping our beaches safe each year, and 72,000 volunteers protect us from fire as part of the Rural Fire Service.

My thoughts turn to one of those volunteers as I watch the girls walk away.

I'm thinking about a firefighter from the RFS who did not return home from the fire ground last month.

Senior Deputy Captain John Holmes from the Mallanganee brigade died while fighting a blaze near Bonalbo. He suffered a medical episode while trying to keep other people safe.

I'm thinking of John's family and friends as they mourn his loss, the bittersweet tragedy of losing someone who was giving so selflessly to others.

I'm thinking of his fellow firefighters who face a dreadful season ahead.

And the firefighters in the Northern Territory who fought the massive Barkly Complex fire for weeks, and face many more around the territory.

As girls walk away carefree from their near miss in the surf, I think how lucky we are to have people who give up so much of their free time and put their own safety on the line to make sure we are out of harm's way.

I call out to the girls to stay safe, saying, "you were lucky someone was there".

I'm grateful they were there. I'm grateful to all of them.

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