Rooftop thanks and applause at the airport: The many ways Australians are showing their appreciation for firefighters

Australians are keen to show their appreciation for our local firefighters and those who have travelled from abroad to assist in the gruelling frontline effort.

Australians are expressing their thanks for the brave efforts of firefighters.

Australians are expressing their thanks for the brave efforts of firefighters. Source: Twitter/@NSWRFS/@RFSCommissioner

They're working round the clock and putting their lives on the line to save lives and property from raging fires.

It's no wonder that volunteer firefighters' courage and dedication has prompted an outpouring of gratitude.

As well as donations to firefighting services, some Australians are getting creative in how they say thank you to the men and women on the frontline. 

Some messages are best seen from the air with several homeowners writing messages on their driveways or roofs.
"Our firefighters have received many thank you letters and signs posted on homes over the past months. Here is a special one, we assume made specially for our aviation teams to find," the NSW Rural Fire Service tweeted. 

US firefighters who have flown in to help local crews with the bushfire effort were given a heroes' welcome at Sydney airport on Thursday. 

NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the spontaneous round of applause reflected the gratitute and admiration Australians have for their firefighting friends from across the Pacific.
Australian cricketers have also done their bit to boost spirits of exhausted firefighters, using their day off to visit the RFS Sydney headquarters and bushfire-affected areas including Wingello and Southern Highlands on Wednesday. 

Captain Tim Paine and Nathan Lyon posed for photographs with RFS members and praised the efforts of fire crews.
"When you do see it you realise the bravery, just the flat out bravery of our firemen and women that have come out here to try and save lives and save property has been an unbelievable effort so we thought it was really important for us to come out here and say thank you," Paine said. 

Children have also been keen to express their gratitude to firefighters, making special cards and notes for the volunteers.

The artwork has been saved and is now displayed at NSW RFS headquarters.
Thank You Cards Left For Firefighters At RFS Headquarters As State Of Emergency Is Declared In NSW
Children have written thank you messages to firefighters which are on display at the RFS headquarters in Sydney. Source: Getty
The messages mean a lot to firefighters as Victoria Country Fire Authority volunteer Andre Smith explained in an opinion piece in Nine newspapers this week. 

He described the generosity of business owners and strangers whenever they managed to take a break from battling blazes. 

"Managers order us to put our wallets away with a smile, even though business of any kind is sorely needed right now in communities already hit hard by drought."
At 5pm on Christmas Day, there are 74 bush and grass fires burning across NSW. All fires are at advice level. The north of the state has seen some good rainfall helping firefighting efforts. Further south, firefighters strengthened containment lines. #nswrfs Credit: Jason Palmer pic.twitter.com/2oXdBzY6t7

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3 min read
Published 10 January 2020 8:16am
Updated 10 January 2020 8:21am
By SBS News
Source: SBS



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