Tracking back across the blackened ground near Tarago to mop up embers from the blaze the day before, it was the slightest movement in the otherwise dead zone that caught the eye of volunteer firefighter Andrew Jones.
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Mr Jones, a member of the Captains Flat Rural Fire Brigade, had just come across three dead adult kangaroos when he noticed the movement about 200 metres away.
He trudged over the scorched earth to find a tiny pouch-young joey, laying on the ground. Covered in soot, the joey was camouflaged in her surroundings. But, she was still alive.
Mr Jones offered her water from his hands, which she gratefully drank.
"We washed her off with our water bottles and then I took my jacket off and wrapped it in that," Mr Jones said.
After tucking the baby girl safely into a fire-blanket lined bag in the fire truck, she became an "honorary firefighter" as the crew continued to mop up embers, before she was handed over to Wildcare.
Mr Jones said it put a smile on his face to find something alive after seeing so much destruction.
The fast-moving fires at Currandooley, which started on Tuesday, January 17, resulted in the loss of one property, and stock losses. The fire the day after near Sutton came dangerously close to homes.
Mr Jones said it was the first time in his 13 years of Rural Fire brigade service he had been able to recover an animal from a fierce blaze.
Wildcare volunteer Suzy Watson said the joey, who was too young to hop, had miraculously survived.
She said the joey had no visible burns, but was dehydrated. Unable to survive on anything but milk, the joey would have perished within hours had the firefighters not found her.
"She would have died, and in the heat we were experiencing, she would have crashed very quickly. Considering her circumstances, she came in with remarkably little issues."
Ms Watson said the joey, dubbed Flame, was shy and gentle, but would become more confident and curious.
While they would form a bond, Ms Watson said volunteers were careful to never think of the wild animal as a pet.
Both Ms Watson and Mr Jones work full time and fit their volunteering around their paid jobs.
Mr Jones took three days off work to help fight the blaze at Currandooley, and then continued to help during the night shift, on just a few hours' sleep.
"It's extremely hard for all the volunteers during fire season. You're asking employers to be extremely lenient in a three to four month period so you can leave with no notice," he said.
"But it's that feeling that you're making a difference. It's definitely not done for any glory."
Mr Jones said it was things like finding life in an otherwise lifeless zone that reaffirmed why he did it.
Flame is in "great condition" after her rescue. She is currently learning to hop.
