CFS volunteers return from devastating NSW fires HERE TO HELP: CFS volunteers Matthew Byrne, Tony White, Paul Marchant, (front) Peter Soar and Mandy Thompson among the devastation in the Blue Mountains. Picture: by Alex Coppel. THEY thought they were going into one of the worst fires our nation has seen but for our South Australian fire fighters found that the NSW flames were no match for the human spirit. Snapped in the heart of Blue Mountains, these South Australian CFS fire fighters were focusing on asset protection ensuring the hundreds of homes that came dangerously close to the flames didn't go up. Arriving home yesterday, CFS member Tony White said he was moved by the camaraderie shared by all everyone during this time of crisis. "Everyone is here to help and I'm lucky because I'm getting paid but a lot of these guys aren't," he said They run their own businesses and what not and got bussed in. A crew from Melbourne spent nine hours on a bus to get here. These people don't have money coming in but they're very committed to helping out - it's a great thing. But it wasn't just the fire fighters who came together in a time of crisis, Mr White says the community really got behind the men and women on the front line. "There's always someone offering you food over here and they really look after you," he said AS you go through the town everyone gives you a clap or they'll throw you a bag of lollies. They're very appreciative of what you're doing and it's nice - the chest swells up a bit and you feel like you're doing something good. Mr White said the conditions made fighting the fire even harder but was glad the conditions didn't get to what was predicted earlier in the week. The terrain around here is pretty hard to fight fire, Thankfully the winds never got to what they were expecting or things could have been a lot worse. There were about five helicopters who did a great job - I couldn't see them though because the smoke was so thick.