The amazing misfortune of the Clarence/Dargan bushfire brigade revealed

Thank heavens, the Fergusons prepared, 19-year-old Caitlyn said.

But as all but one member of the five-strong family is a NSW RFS member, it's no surprise the family from Clarence was organised.

Her fellow Clarence/Dargan brigade mates were similarly prepared but many of their fates were very different.

"Without a doubt it meant we were as ready as possible. We'd cleared the yard, the gutters and put in a firebreak as well as packed up the valuables ready to go," Caitlyn explained six days after the Gospers Mountain fire burnt its way through the Fergusons hometown of 18 years.

"We knew it was coming - it was inevitable - but we did get that warning."

And the Fergusons made the most of it. Caitlyn's parents, Rebecca and Thomas, maintained their fulltime jobs but spent the hour after hour in the lead-up to the inevitable onslaught creating firebreaks, back-burning and talking to the local community, educating them on how best to be ready, too.

On Saturday, the fires ripped through Clarence and Dargan as well as the outskirts of Lithgow. The family was helping out at the Clarence fire shed when when all hell broke loose.

Over a muted, teary Christmas get-together, the family decided on the adjective to best describe Saturday, December 21 - apocalyptic.

First the town's fire shed was saved, then the Fergusons house was saved. But their three-hectare block was seriously impacted.

"It was a hard fight and thankfully the prep work that we had done around the house is what saved it. Our fences have burnt, the land is scorched and the gardens have seared the edges of our house, but it still stands," Caitlyn explained.

Outbuildings, including a tram which doubled as a storage shed, and Caitlyn's 10-year-old cubbyhouse were destroyed but that puts the Fergusons in the "lucky basket".

"We were lucky that firefighting crews were able to help us put out the fire that threatened our house on two fronts, coming from both ends of our property. We were lucky," Caitlyn insisted.

Of the 20-strong Clarence RFS unit, seven members lost their homes to the Gosper Mountain fire.

"All up, we lost 10 homes in Clarence. Many brigade members were out protecting other people's homes instead of their own, and couldn't get back. Many didn't know the state of their own houses, whether they had anything to come home to.

"Many were left with only the RFS clothes on their back, covered in day's worth of ash and soot, sweat, blood and tears. Many have lost all their belongings, valuables, life possessions in order to save someone else's. They have paid the ultimate sacrifice to help their community."

And this is where Caitlyn, on summer break from university in Canberra, has stepped in.

She's created a GoFundMe page to help the members of the Clarence/Dargan brigade who have lost their homes get back on their feet.

"Any donation would help them with the little things that we take for granted - groceries, clothes, even a toothbrush.

"These people have helped save my house, the houses of my community and so much more. They deserve everything we can possibly give them plus more. It's the least we can do," Caitlyn said.

You can click here to donate.

But that's not all. Caitlyn wants her experience shared so others can benefit from it.

"We had a plan, we'd done the preparation and it worked. But it's also important to let people know what's happened."

She will continue to campaign not just for her brigade but for a greater understanding of the situation the nation finds itself facing.

Her friend Aish Cowgill, from Bathurst, referenced the Fergusons' plight in an open letter to the Prime Minister.

"This is the 15th Christmas, in my lifetime, that my dad will spend on-call, fighting bushfires.

"I wonder if you enjoyed your holiday in Hawaii, because there certainly wasn't time for him to take a well-earned rest. He has instead been putting out the bushfires.

Our futures are ablaze. My friend's own backyard is on fire," Aish wrote.

And while she waits for action, Caitlyn and her family will continue doing the hard yards on the fireground, providing the behind-the-scenes support for the brigade and dispensing as many care packages and hugs as they can from the Clarence fire shed.