Zone manager Superintendent David Hoadley said the conference was about forging stronger links with volunteers.

Mr Abbott has been a member of the NSW RFS for 16 years, balancing it with a political career.

“I’m very lucky that I’ve got a supportive family and I’m reasonably well organised,” Mr Abbott said.

He said the combination of family support and organisation allowed him to juggle the demands of both his volunteering service, as Member for Warringah and as prime minister.

“Even as prime minister you can avoid scheduling stuff on a Sunday for instance, even as prime minister you sometimes have a night off,” he said.

During those times, Mr Abbott said he found time to join a crew during an emergency. He turned out twice as PM to fires near Bilpin in the Blue Mountains.

“Life as we know it would be very different if we didn’t have the RFS,” he said.

“On Christmas Day in 2001, the beeper went off, I was expecting it because of the massive clouds of smoke over the Blue Mountains.”

Despite the best efforts of those volunteers, Mr Abbott said there was heartbreak amongst residents and firefighters.

“There were families in the Blue Mountains who opened their presents on Christmas Day and on Boxing Day the presents were gone,” he said.

Mr Abbott said he valued the brigade’s camaraderie and found the work fulfilling, urging people to volunteer their own time to the RFS.

Superintendent Hoadley said volunteers in Canobolas Zone were deployed so fires were under control quickly.

“Our purpose in Canobolas Zone is doing everything we can to put out fires before they become disastrous events,” Superintendent Hoadley said.

He said the Avondale fire near Cumnock, restricted to 395 hectares could have burned for days without a strong volunteer response.

Superintendent Hoadley said volunteers preferred to be called and go home early rather than chase out of control fires.