There is one thing Narooma residents hate more than the idea of losing their homes: the waiting game.
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That is what residents told Moruya State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers who headed to Narooma on Wednesday.
Emergency crews told residents from Moruya to Tilba Tilba to enact their bushfire survival plans, before weather conditions worsen on Friday and Saturday.
Some people had been preparing their properties for weeks, with plans A, B, C, D and E ready if the fire hit. Many had their bags packed - the same bags they brought with them when they evacuated on New Year's Eve, January 4 and January 23.
Other property owners had questions: "How close is the fire? When will we know it's time to leave?"
The response was clear: If your plan was to leave, leave early. Don't wait until it was too late.
Some people had installed hoses and sprinkler systems, created several exit routes, cleared bush and blocked up the house so embers could not enter.
Several neighbours on Ringlands Road planned to ring a bell to warn each other the fire was near, in case telecommunication networks went down.
Some residents were on the edge of tears - exhausted by the threat - when SES knocked.
They had not taken their eyes off the RFS website or the news and were listening to the radio.
One lady packed a caravan with her eight dogs, to take refuge at a friend's house.
One resident was frustrated at the council, saying trees on his road were a bushfire hazard but he was told he could not cut them down.
Residents had the welfare of dogs, chickens, ducks and even guinea fowl to consider.
Every resident was grateful to the SES volunteers for showing up on their doorstep, and thanked them for their service. Fighting fires is one of the few services SES does not provide.
However, door knocking is just one of the ways crews have assisted RFS since the emergency began in November.
In spite of losing the Batemans Bay SES headquarters, Eurobodalla Shire SES volunteers have worked around the clock to help, while keeping an eye on their own homes under threat.
On Monday, they helped army reservists assemble tents for RFS volunteers at Narooma's Bill Smyth oval.
The following day, they extricated the bodies of two people killed in crash at Bodalla.
They have also chainsawed trees, provided generators to dialysis patients, first aid, helped at evacuation centres and been supportive to the public at evacuation points and community events.
