ALAN Payne has milked a lot of cows and fought a lot of fires over the past 30 years.

But the Warwick dairy farmer has no intention of hanging up his orange overalls anytime soon.

He is among the 4496 Rural Fire Brigade Association Queensland's Warwick and Toowoomba region volunteers who put their lives on the line every time there's a natural disaster in the region.

Today he will don a yellow ribbon to help raise awareness of the volunteers' effort.

Mr Payne and his wife have four children and milk Brown Swiss dairy cows in Freestone Valley, about 25km east of Warwick.

The Freestone Rural Fire Brigade first officer said in 32 years he had attended some massive natural diasters.

"I suppose the ones that I remember the most are the 2002 fires that probably set me on the path to becoming more involved in the service," Mr Payne said.

"I have attended fires in most areas within the Warwick area as well as large ones in the Toowoomba area.

"As group officer I coordinated the brigades in the Warwick area during the last three floods.

"The rest of the emergency services were shut in Warwick due to the Condamine (River) being in flood and the only emergency services in the outlying district was the local rural fire brigade."

Mr Payne said the hard yakka was repaid in invaluable ways.

"I feel it has enriched my life," he said.

"It has grown me through the experiences and opportunities it has brought to me.

"It is an organisation in which you get back what you put into it threefold .

"And the pleasure of fellowship in being with people who are like minded is immeasurable."

Mr Payne said Yellow Ribbon Day was vital recognition for those who gave their time to protect their communities.

"The importance of volunteers can not be over estimated," he said.

"They are the local emergency service - they give up their time freely to assist their fellow citizens when any disaster strikes their community - be it natural or man made.

"The local knowledge and experience they bring to an incident is paramount in bringing difficult situations under control during either wild fire or flood.

"Without this unpaid army of volunteers the region would be a poorer place."

Volunteer value

The average volunteer hour is worth $28.99

If a firefighter works for 20 hours that equals $579.80

If the 4496 greater Toowoomba region volunteers all serve 20 hours in one week that's worth $2,606,780.

Source: Rural Fire Brigades Association Queensland; Volunteering Queensland