While 2964 volunteers remain registered with the emergency unit, many have reduced - or completely stopped - regular attendance over the past two years.

A downturn in training programs and member engagement during COVID is responsible for the worrying trend, according to Operations Officer Guy Sadler:

"All but the absolute essential training were reduced to nothing ... people forgot about the service ... and found other interests.

"There's still a lot of people in the pool, but them actually turning out is becoming very problematic."

Mr Sadler also revealed an exodus from low-density areas is forcing overreliance on external town- and city-based fire services.

"There's less [volunteers] there, because farms are being bought-up by corporations and that reduces the people on site," Sadler said.

"We find that our recruitment base dwindles away and we're unable to recover any new volunteers, because essentially there is just no one there."

The RFS is responsible for fire protection across approximately 95 per cent of NSW, and is one of the world's largest volunteer-based emergency forces.

The Canobolas branch comprises the Orange, Cabonne, Cowra, and Blayney LGAs, covering 10,636 square kilometres.

If you are interested and think you want to provide to your community, come and have a look," Mr Sadler said.

"... Not all of our volunteers are firefighters - we have logistics volunteers, communications, and aviation.

"Most of the information is online ... and that's the best place to find out what the RFS is, how it's structured, and if it's the right place for you."

To read more stories, download the Central Western Daily news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.