Mr Ewer, of Caroline Springs, has been with the fire brigade for five years but faced his most challenging job last year on February 7, being called out on a night shift after a long day's work in Caroline Springs to attend fires in Kingslake.

"One of the things that stuck in my mind from that night is that we came across a horse that survived," Mr Ewer said.

"So we broke into a shed and got some food and water for him; it was amazing that he survived.

"The devastation was amazing. We followed a property by the different colour ash on the ground because that's all that was left; there was no way of telling where the road was," he added.

"It was one of the most devastating fires I had seen. We were hearing calls on the radio ... it was very difficult for us to listen with everyone calling for help."

As the Black Saturday anniversary dawned, the psychological scars still ran deep for residents affected by the bushfires.

For Mr Ewer, returning to normality has not been too hard thanks to the support of his members.

"It's very difficult to believe it has been a year; we were and we are well prepared," he said.

"We are always keeping water in our truck for our own safety and every year we go over our training in preparation for the fire season. It is no longer just a routine thing; we know it could get nasty really quickly."