Small community-based firefighting teams emerging from the Braidwood bushfires have proved to be well-organised groups that save the properties — and potentially the lives — of local farmers and distant neighbours.

The so-called Mongarlowe Mozzies is one, with other groups coming together at Araluen, Bombay Road and Cooma Road.

The Mongarlowe Mozzies, who have professional firefighters in their midst, came together realising that Braidwood RFS, with its limited resources, could not be everywhere.

These community members work together, putting out spot fires while recognising that safety is number one, and that accountability and back-up means that they are never alone.

Filmmaker Matt Thane fought fires with the Mongarlowe Mozzies and shot video to capture the action as it unfolded. ( Supplied: Matthew Thane )

Braidwood residents embrace the Mozzies

Mongarlowe filmmaker, farmer and mechanic Matthew Thane, a member of the Mozzies, has been busy over the past month documenting the region as it burns, camera in one hand, fire hose in the other.

"We make sure that we're all sent out with food, water, a radio, comms on the RFS channel, and we also use an app to stay in touch and alert others when spot fires appear," he said.

"Local residents catered for us, they looked after us. People donated water, food, time, fuel to us. Pumps, tanks, everything. It's a very supportive gang because they see the effect the Mozzies have had on the community, of slowing the fire down or stopping it in some cases."

In the Mongarlowe area, the RFS response has been to include the Mozzies in fire briefings. This ensures that they can be in the right place at the right time, not getting in the way, but backing them up.

"Without the Mosquito crews a lot more properties, houses, lives, may have been lost. I believe the RFS acknowledge that and they've been terrific," Mr Thane said.

Working with limited resources

Braidwood RFS deputy captain Danny King is clearly supportive of the Mozzies' ability to band together and get things done.

"They've taken it upon themselves. They've used their time and energy, at their own expense by running their vehicles, the equipment and so forth to basically support the effort for containing this fire," he said.

Fire chief Danny King was glad of assistance from the Mozzies. ( Supplied: Matthew Thane )

Mr King stressed that the fires were an ongoing concern, but it gave RFS volunteers some comfort knowing the Mozzies were out there.

"Those guys are out there putting out spot fires we can't necessarily get to because our resources are limited, so a big thank you from the local RFS," he said

"We enormously appreciate the effort that they've done. Without them, I think the outcome would have been very different."

'Putting wet stuff on the hot stuff'

At one point, Braidwood was completely cut off by fire.

Nerriga Road was cut off, Kings Highway to Batemans Bay was cut, Cooma Road was cut, and the smaller roads that run around Braidwood were cut as well.

Mr King says it gave RFS volunteers some comfort knowing the Mozzies were out there. ( Supplied: Matthew Thane )

Residents were on their own.

"The Mosquito Army came about where the need was for it, I suppose firstly to protect your own farm," Mr Thane said.

"Most farmers have got a ute, most farmers have got a 1,000-litre IBC water tank, most farmers have got a pump, or they went and got one.

"A thousand litres does not sound like a lot, but it can actually put out a fire.

"Twenty or 30 units turn up to a fire, and you're putting 30,000 litres of wet stuff on the hot stuff. You know, that's got to have an effect."

Filmmaking on the fire front

Mr Thane has been making amateur films most of his life, and most of them have been about people he knows.

In this case, with the fires, he was hesitant about doing it but considered that this was a story people would want to know about.

"I suppose the motivation for documenting and capturing what's going on in Braidwood was, one day this is going to stop," he said.

"When the rains come, and things settle down people are going to want to see what we all went through as a community, and celebrate what we went through as a community, and how we all pulled together."

Mates helping mates

Farringdon's former fire captain, Cathy Noakes, got involved with the Mosquito Army when she realised how stretched the RFS were, and that the Mozzies were quite capable of putting out spot fires to help save farms.

Cathy Noakes was fighting fires with Mozzies this month. ( Supplied: Matthew Thane )

"We are a tight, organised group. A lot of the people in our group are RFS qualified. We all had UHF radios and we were in very tight communication between us and triple-zero and the fire control centre at Braidwood," she said.

"We weren't just renegades running around getting in the way, and I think the Mozzies played an important part in stopping the fires from going through to Majors Creek."

Winning, grinning, working, and learning

James Boljkovac joined the Mongarlowe Mozzies' fleet to try to help the local RFS, which he is doing, but his sentiments were strongly affiliated with his neighbourly crew.

James Boljkovac enjoyed his time watching the RFS work and learnt a lot about how to fight fires. ( Supplied: Matthew Thane )

"I can't talk for all the mosquito fleet, but I know there's a lot of us out there," he said.

"Thanks, guys. We are making a big difference out here. Following the RFS around, just watching the RFS doing their job has taught us a lot.