IT was the early hours of New Year's Day - the dawning of a new decade - and while most of us were celebrating, RFS crews were battling a blaze that had sparked at Wangi in hot and windy conditions.
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And later that day, as the exhausted and starving volunteer firefighters were coming back in from fighting the Summerhill Drive blaze, the call came through to two other western Lake Macquarie volunteer organisations about providing a New Year's Day lunch.
The Wangi Lions Club and Wangi Men's Shed quickly got together 200 sandwiches and drinks to quell the hunger and quench the thirst of firefighters and give them the fuel to go back out and continue the fight.
But it became clear that this fire was not about to abate without a battle and one meal was not going to be enough. "So we organised dinner and it became apparent by dinner time that we would need to keep going," Wangi Men's Shed President Greg Cross said.
Since then there has been a continuous stream of volunteer firefighters coming through the Wangi Men's Shed as the two community groups have put on breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday for a total of more than 900 meals.
And, once the word got out on social media, the local community and businesses began chipping in, with people donating everything from water, cooked meals, cakes, soft drinks, ice and pizza.
"It is incredibly heartening to see the community come together during times like this," Mr Cross said. "It has been beyond any of my expectations."
In times of national crisis, there are many who search for a way to provide tangible assistance.
Monetary donations are crucial, but something as simple as putting a plate of food in front of a firey has galvanised the already close-knit community of Wangi. The Wangi fire began about 11pm on New Year's Eve.
Police said they believed the blaze was sparked by arcing power lines at Wangi Road near Summerhill Drive.
The lines are believed to have arced because of high southerly winds.
Dozens of firefighters from at least 10 brigades spent the first hours of 2020 trying to contain the flames in about 30 hectares of bush along the Awaba side of Wangi Road.
At one stage in the early hours of New Year's Day, the fire threatened to jump Wangi Road.
Embers blew across the road but were quickly extinguished by crews positioned to prevent spot fires.
The fire has eaten through nearly 1000 hectares of bush but is under control and the two volunteer groups are not expecting they will be required to feed the firefighters for much longer.
