Back then, his father was the captain of the small town fire brigade, and he'd be able to hear the details of the job through the old phone system.

It didn't come as a surprise to many that Mr Dunn has followed in his father's footsteps, and as captain of the South Tamworth Fire and Rescue NSW team, he's just earned his 25-year clasp.

"I've been around firefighting all my life," he said.

"The old turnout siren used to go off and you could hear it echoing through the whole of the town.

"I used to look out the window and watch him go, I'd wait and hear the truck go up and down the highway and you'd always wonder what was going on."

At 18 years old, Mr Dunn joined the local brigade at Walcha before he moved out to Narrabri to fight fires there for a decade.

The Newell Highway taught him some hard to learn lessons about the fragility of life.

"It was a big shake up, there were a lot of B-Double trucks crashed and burnt, some fatalities," he said.

"Narrabri tend to have a lot of big incidents, we would have a lot of HAZMAT incidents because of that Newell Highway."

Eventually he moved to Tamworth where it became a different story again, lots of house fires, the massive blaze that ripped through Carey's Freight warehouse in Taminda, the fire that severely damaged the Dragon Palace restaurant and the odd cat stuck up a tree.

Mr Dunn said every time the pager goes off it's still the same thrill that it's always been.

"The drive has never changed, I still get out of bed and get here really quick," he said.

"I just love it, I enjoy the job and I enjoy riding in the truck and going to calls, I have never been the person to come to a call and sit at the station and let everyone else go.

"I want to be on the truck and on the front line, it's continuous learning."

Mr Dunn doesn't see what he does as brave, or heroic, but in a job where other people usually run out, he's always ready to run in.

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"It's more about doing something to help the community out, you feel like you're achieving something," he said.

"It's a milestone, 25 years in the job.

"Most of my crew is young now and they question me, then they find out I've been in the job for 25 years and maybe I do know what I'm talking about.

"I think I've still got a few more years left in me."

Mr Dunn was awarded a National Medal for his 25 years of service with Fire and Rescue NSW and received a clasp.

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