Like all assembly lines, the one at the Milton RFS station kitchen is a model of efficiency. Everyone has an assigned role in the process of making the product.
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Its aim is to keep firefighters fed while they're on the ground battling the monster Currowan blaze. The products they're assembling are ration packs: two sandwiches, glucose-laden lollies or muesli bars, juice and fruit.
The production line is making 800 sandwiches per day. These are taken to the staging area at Lions Park, Burrill Lake, where they're picked up by crews and taken into the field.
The operation began on November 26 and is likely to continue until at least until the end of January.
"We just work one shift, starting at 6am and going until 2pm," said RFS volunteer Judi Ferguson from Merry Beach.
On the first day the catering crew was called in late and didn't get home until 11pm that night. Now, the SES is helping out with meals at night and breakfasts.
There are 23 volunteers working in the kitchen. Normally, the base has 10 permanent volunteers, so the rest have just turned up to offer a helping hand. Three of those have decided to officially join the RFS.
The crew took time out on Wednesday to thank the 50-odd community members and businesses who donated food, drink and money to keep the operation going.
"We've been given money, we've been given food, lollies, bags of chips, muesli bars," Mrs Ferguson said.
"When it first started, people were bringing in all sorts of things, chemist lines and things. The things we couldn't use, we sent down to the civic centre evacuation centre and they were handed out down there to people."
Shoalhaven catering secretary Roy Cullen said while this operation was busy, during the August 2108 Kingiman fire, the kitchen turned out 1500 sandwiches in one night and the next morning.
"I haven't eaten a sandwich since," he quipped.
"Most of us don't want to see a sandwich since," Mrs Ferguson echoed.
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"We just got another lovely $100 donation today from a lady who teaches children sewing at Milton school," said Mrs Ferguson. "They all put in $2 a week, they've built up this money and so she decided to come and donate it to us."
More donations are welcome. The kitchen can't take cooked food but prepackaged items that can go into ration packs are welcome.
"Lollies, we can make packs out of that. Muesli bars we can use, the chips we can use, food that we can then put into the packs. It must be packaged stuff."
Overseeing the operation is Shoalhaven Central Catering Brigade captain Ingrid Nordermeer, from Sussex Inlet. An RFS member for 26 years, she said the catering operation had worked extremely well.
"We haven't had any problems. The girls have stepped up to the plate."
As this will be an ongoing operation, volunteers are given time off when they need it.
"But we are having Christmas off. I've got a wonderful son who's in the fire brigade and I'm hoping he'll be home and he'll do all the hot food and I'll do all the salads," Mrs Nordermeer said.