I was a firefighter with the ACT at the time, and the 2003 fires were what we'd considered as our worst-case scenario, one that I thought we would never see again in my lifetime.

I watched trees 50 metres apart with flames 30 metres high jump from treetop to treetop with no surface fire to support the crown fire. I remember thinking at the time that it was like the atmosphere was on fire.

I struggled to understand what I was witnessing. In hindsight, there had already been warning signs in the 2002 fire season, when I observed fires doing things I couldn't explain. Even in benign circumstances, fires were spreading faster than ever, and were difficult to put out.

Of course, now we know that climate change is cranking up the fire danger across much of Australia. Driven by the burning of coal, oil, and gas, climate change is exacerbating the hot and dry conditions that lead to longer and more severe bushfire seasons.

Scientists say that we are moving to a five-year cycle and if some of the predictions are true, what we experienced in 2019-2020 it will become a normal season by 2050. What we experienced in 2003 is sadly becoming the norm. When I think of the long trail of devastation left by the 2003 fires, I shudder to think of the damage that more frequent and severe bushfires will do, and what recovery will look like in a changing climate.

For many Canberrans, the impacts of the 2003 fires linger even today.

For instance, I'm still in close contact with my fire mates from 2003, and while some of them have moved on from the fires with no problems, others have serious physical and mental health issues. It took my colleagues many years to recover, and in fact, some didn't. Marriages failed and relationships were challenged as the people in their lives couldn't understand what they went through.

Looking back, I can understand that a key reason why the 2003 fires were so traumatic for us firefighters was that the severity of the fires took us by surprise; we couldn't understand what was happening, and we didn't know others felt the same. We didn't know where to turn; our support network had been decimated.

Firefighters and communities need more support to understand the changing nature of the disasters they're facing, and to be able to talk about how it affects them.

Ultimately, recovery is long, complex, and difficult work - and the increasing frequency and severity of disasters is making recovery from disasters more challenging.

But there is plenty that governments and emergency services can do to build resilience against worsening extreme weather.

A key recommendation from the MacLeod Inquiry into the January 2003 bushfires was the establishment of the Emergency Services Authority, and as the then-president of the ACT Fire Controllers Group, I was fortunate to be a part of the process developing the legislation for the new authority.

CANBERRA REMEMBERS:

The recommendations called for better bushfire fuel management, improved fire abatement zones, fuel hazard reduction burning, and changes to our job operationally. Unfortunately, 20 years later so much of that work and momentum has been watered down. We don't have an ACT Bushfire Council or a Fire Controllers' group anymore - both were pivotal in ensuring common sense was built into the system and was an independent voice. We need support that prepares us for what can happen, to understand that you are not alone and it's OK to ask for help or want to talk. Mental preparedness is essential.

Most importantly, we need to tackle the root cause of why fires are getting worse in the first place.

Working towards emissions reductions needed to address climate change must be a top priority of all levels of government. We can and must phase out coal, oil, and gas - the biggest drivers of climate change - and transition our energy system to 100 per cent renewable energy instead.

On the 20th anniversary of the terrible 2003 ACT fires, I hope we make good use of the knowledge we now have about the reason behind the worsening fires and the actions needed for an effective recovery of our firefighters.

We can't prevent the climate consequences that have already been locked in by decades of inaction, but the steps we take today will determine whether we'll be able to cope with worsening bushfires or not; whether we'll be able to limit damage to survivable levels.

Our environment, our communities and our emergency service workers are depending on this. We must learn from the past to deliver a liveable future for future generations. The time to act is now.