There’s a lot of praise to be given to the amazing volunteers who are out there fighting on the front lines of fires across NSW as the state prepares for some of the worst bushfire conditions on record.

Behind the scenes though, some additional high praise to the team who put together the data collection and mapping behind the Rural Fire Service’s “Fires Near Me” app.

The app, free, is Number 1 on the App Store for both Apple and Android phones with huge download numbers as residents prepare for the worst.

Fires Near Me is an app we should all have on our phones.

Firstly, you can see all the active fires in the state – colour coded for their severity.

Secondly, you can setup alerts for your address, as well as friends or family addresses (a total of 10 possible), to ensure you get smart notifications on your device about any fires threatening the area.

And within the app, there is a large amount of information you can use as you prepare for or experience fires.

Download now, on iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store)