A volunteer firefighter lost his house to wildfire as he tried to save other people’s homes from the blaze.

Australian Russell Scholes said he headed to his fire station because he “did not have time” to stay at his home if he was to join the rescue effort.

“We had jobs to do,” he told the BBC.

His team had been told to move to the next property if a building was already on fire. His own home in Balmoral, New South Wales, had begun to burn.

He said staying “would have made it more difficult for me to do my job”. He added: “Out of sight, out of mind. Go and do what you’ve got to do.”

States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Show all 15 1 /15 States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A firefighter works on a bushfire believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike that has ravaged an area of over 2,000 hectares in northern New South Wales state AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A water tanker airplane drops fire retardant on a bushfire in Harrington, New South Wales EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Firefighters tackle a bushfire to save a home in Taree, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A kangaroo is seen by the burnt remains of a vintage car in Torrington Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Photo taken on November 9, 2019 shows bushfires taken from a plane in over north eastern New South Wales AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Andrew Mackenzie surveys the damage around his home in Torrington Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters conduct property protection as a bushfire burns close to homes on Railway Parade in Woodford NSW AP States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) comforts 85-year-old resident Owen Whalan at an evacauation centre in Taree 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Fire burns at Bolivia Hill in Glen Innes Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A resident puts out small fires as he rides his motorcycle in Old Bar, New South Wales EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A fire rages in Bobin, 350km north of Sydney on November 9, 2019, as firefighters try to contain dozens of out-of-control blazes AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Construction workers speak as smoke haze drifts over Sydney, Australia EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A vintage Jaguar car sits in ruins after a bushfire destroyed a property in Old Bar, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A fire rages in Bobin, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images

He was fighting the bushfires that have ravaged parts of Australia over the past few months, destroying more than 900 homes and killing at least nine people.

Almost 800 homes have burned in New South Wales, which last week was paralysed by a seven-day state of emergency amid catastrophic conditions.

Mr Scholes said he came back to see his house in the morning and found it in ruins. “She made me cry,” he said.

The volunteer said it would have “made no sense at all” for him to watch over his own house instead of protecting others as his home was “already burnt”.

He said he had removed everything of sentimental value from his home as he “knew what was coming”.

“I loved the house,” he said, “but it’s just a thing.”

He added: “My family is safe, my animals are safe, and we helped protect the community. For me, that is more important than the house.”

Around 200 wildfires were burning in four states at the start of the week, with more than half of them in New South Wales, including 60 fires not contained.

The state’s Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said he expects to see “a meaningful reprieve in the weather” in four to six weeks’ time.