DOWN and out, Aaron Bligh turned to volunteer firefighting to reignite his passion for life.
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In the end it sparked much more than that.
Employed as a firefighter's course instructor, student Amanda Bishop caught his eye.
As a Remote Area Firefighting Team captain, Mr Bligh heads onto the fireground without a vehicle and does most of his work by hand.
His team relied on volunteers to collect them from blazes, and Ms Bishop always seemed to turn up.
Four years later, the couple have been busy battling the out-of-control Ebor blaze side-by-side.
"We went out on a few fires where we would make a radio call for someone to pick us up or give us a hand and it was always Amanda who was there," Mr Bligh said.
The pair fought the 17,000 hectare blaze together on Friday, everything was calm until the wind picked up and the fire jumped the road.
Mr Bligh said he's never seen a fire move so fast, and seeing his partner grow as a firefighter is one of his favourite parts of the job.
"Seeing her grow is awesome, but when things go bad it is scary because you're not just worries about yourself and other firefighters but you have another vested interest," he said.
"We work really well together and I know she's got my back no matter what, when we went into property protection and were running around saving homes, to come home and both know what you've been through is nice."
Mr Bligh now works full-time for the Glen Innes Rural Fire Service team, while Ms Bishop does a lot of volunteer work with the Guyra crews.
They don't always get to fight fires together, but when they do it's their differences that make them a good team.
Rescued cat 'Smokey', from the Ebor fires, is a testament to that.
"Definitely I tend to be a little bit more, 'let's just get in there and do it,' while she's more rational and thinks about the consequences," Mr Bligh said.
"She has this love of animals, we protected that kitten and got it out safely.
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"I see the mission where as she looks at what's happening in the moment, she's a lot more compassionate."
It's not uncommon for couples to volunteer for the NSW Rural Fire Service, but more often one will work in logistics while the other tackles the fires.
A lot of volunteer firefighters, like those out at Ebor or other blazes in the state, have to give up time with their families to help, Mr Bligh said.
"I'm lucky, we leave our daughter at home and get to go out and do it together," he said.