Real heroes don't wear capes. Real heroes walk out of their front door each day, leaving their families and heading to a job protecting their community.
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They never know when their job will put them at risk or harm's way as they carry out the duties they are paid to do.
These people who serve and those who volunteer their time to fight the devastating bush fires we have seen across New South Wales and Queensland are the real heroes.
While most of us run from the smell of smoke and the sight of flames reaching high into the sky, it is there job to run towards it.
To defend our land, our properties and our towns.
Across NSW, during Tuesday's dangerous hot and windy conditions there were 19 fires which reached emergency warning level.
At one stage, 16 of those fires were at that level at the same time. It is the highest level of bush fire alert meaning people are in grave danger.
Early reports indicate at least 50 homes across NSW were damaged and destroyed by Tuesday's fire.
Thankfully, and somewhat miraculously, there was no loss of life.
In the Illawarra, we sweltered through the conditions like everyone else, but no fires of any note in our region took hold.
Yet that should not mean we should relax or be complacent.
On the contrary. No pun intended, but we are not out of the woods yet. It's not even summer yet.
We are just gearing up for our peak fire season as RFS Illawarra deputy group leader Ross Leonard noted to the Mercury on Tuesday.
"We don't want to send out the message that 'this is as bad as it gets' because this is just the beginning of what is predicted to be a long fire season," he said.
Our region continues to remain under a "very high" fire danger rating.
Our northern suburbs in particular are bone dry and certainly at real risk.
Thankfully, if and when something does eventuate, the "real heroes" will be there to fight for our lives.
