Fire and Rescue Illawarra duty commander Inspector Andrew Erlik is one of several personnel from the region, and one of hundreds from around the state, who have helped organise crews and extinguish fires.

Wollongong's Insp Erlik completed two rotations in October and December at the Glen Innes fire as part of the incident management team.

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NSW Fire and Rescue has also sent strike teams to the frontline to fight various fires such as in Glen Innes, Wollondilly and the Shoalhaven.

"There have been 17 strike teams around the state deployed, each with four appliances and four crew members per truck as well as a strike team leader," he said.

"We have about 350 to 400 Fire and Rescue personnel working in various roles each day."

A Kiama strike team crew went down to the Shoalhaven fire last week and were relieved by a Thirroul crew on Saturday.

Insp Erlik's was a safety adviser and liaison officer within an incident management team.

Many Fire and Rescue personnel have been working as incident controllers, in the communications unit or organised resourcing, accommodation, logistics and transport.

The incident management team also includes personnel from RFS, Fire and Rescue, Nationals Parks and Wildlife Service, Forestry, State Emergency Service, and firefighters from other states.

"It was a great experience to work with people from other agencies; to see how we worked in the same and different ways," he said.

"On my last day at Glen Innes, it was day 94 and there had been 515 fires in that area and 502 had been put out."

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Insp Erlik said one of the most interesting experiences was seeing how the planning and operations teams as well as support services worked together to coorodinate the firefighting effort.

"Going to the base camp where everyone was staying was a fantastic experience," he said. "You meet new people and make new networks."

Insp Erlik said he also enjoyed learning how drones and other technology helped to do building assessments.

He also saw how large the fires were and the ways they moved.

"It is extremely dry up there," he said. "Trees are falling over a lot quicker than normal because of the drought. The potential for firefighters to be injured is greater."

Insp Erlik said more Illawarra crews were likely to be deployed to help fight new or existing fires over coming weeks.

"It is a great experience to go away for a few days and to see the camaraderie," he said. "The Fire and Rescue crews are being mixed up so firefighters meet new people.

"They are working hard and feel they are contributing up there.

"You don't realise the gravity of the drought until you are up there and see it for yourself."