Delivering the benediction at the National Memorial Service, NSW Fire and Rescue Chaplain Lyndsay Smith told the crowd to "hold fast to that which is good".

"In whatever way you can, strengthen the faint hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted and honour all people," Mr Smith said.

Pieta Laut was there with her mother and father to collect a medallion in memory of her brother, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service firefighter Bryce Laut, who died fighting a bushfire in NSW in 2008.

"He was a lovely hippy. He would have given his shirt off his back to anybody," Ms Laut said.

"One of the things that struck us was you always think you're alone in these things [...] it just reminds you how many people in the community are standing up and doing something for others."

"It would be marvellous to see more of this sort of thing where there's a real recognition of the trauma that the people who work with somebody's who's killed go through as well, it's not just family and friends."

Linda Ketteringham also attended the memorial to collect a medal honouring her father, Victorian senior firefighter Peter Cramer, who died fighting the bushfires in Tasmania in 2013.

"I understand he was a hero to everyone else, but he was my dad. He was a larrikin, everyone loved him" Ms Ketteringham said.

"I think it's [the memorial] a nice thing. I think it's good for the families."

NSW NPWS Fire and Incident Management Section director Naomi Stephens said it may be a small comfort to family and friends to know their loved ones died serving their communities.

"The sacrifice made by these people we are remembering today is one for which their families can never be consoled," Ms Stephens said.

"This reminds us of the combined effort required to keep communities safe at this time of increasing occurrence of natural disaster and human induced-tragedy."