OUT of Sunday's bushfire threat south of Warwick came a heart-warming story of survival, that echoed national sentiments after the Black Saturday disaster in Victoria in 2009.

The hero of the story from those deadly fires was a small koala named Sam and now the Southern Downs can claim their own little furry survivor.

Although this koala hasn't been named, the story of its rescue was a big hit with online and social media readers on Sunday.

Rural Fire Services area director Tim Chittenden said the dazed koala was found wandering across a track by Freestone rural fire service volunteers, as they conducted a back-burning operation, on the western side of Sunday's fire.

"It was a little bit disorientated, so to keep it safe they popped it in the back of their truck and radioed back to fire command," he said.

"The guys in command then phoned through to the RSPCA and they got in touch with someone to come and collect it.

"The little lady spent about an hour and a half in the truck as the crews finished their tasks and made it back to command.

"We had an ambulance crew on hand to look after the firies and they ended up caring for the koala - they wrapped a blanket around her and gave her some water."

Stanthorpe wildlife carer Betty Balch was tasked with taking the koala to safety.

"She wasn't burnt at all, thankfully, but she may have suffered some smoke inhalation," she said.

"She's going to get a full checkover from the vet and we'll know for sure after that."

"A lot of credit should go to those firefighters who got to her when they did, it could have ended up a lot worse."

Mrs Balch said she hoped the furry critter would be well enough to release back into the wild in a day or two.

"We'll head back up and drop her close to her home area," she said.

"Not where the fire was, but there's a release point nearby."