It's a blazing passion that runs in the Breed bloodline; both of his brothers volunteer for the RFS and his father Mick Breed works as the captain of the Coleambally Brigade.

Mick said his son had enthusiastically thrown himself into RFS duties from the moment he first joined.

"He picked up the ball and ran with it," he said.

"I'm happy for him; he's put in a lot of hard work."

Thomas got his first taste of fire-battling action when he went to Tooma to fight a bushfire that broke out in the mountains.

Since then, he's been all around the shop, battling fires out in Victoria as well as bushfires closer to home in Coleambally.

When he's not battling fires Thomas works tirelessly behind the scenes doing the less glamorous, but crucially important work needed to keep the station up and running.

He played a big role in a wildly successful volunteer drive that snagged an additional 11 active volunteers, ran bush firefighting training for new recruits, and holds information stalls at Open Day events.

During the school holidays he does administration work for the Fire Control Centre and he also runs the brigade's Facebook page.

He clears out gutters to prevent fire hazards and he also changes batteries in smoke detectors in buildings.

These are just a few of the ways he keeps the Coleambally community safe, and he was lauded for his efforts at NSW Parliament by emergency services minister David Elliot.

"The effort and enthusiasm of young members in the NSW RFS is significant and these awards acknowledge their hard work, camaraderie and community participation," he said.