They worked through the night in horrific and dangerous conditions so Catherine Hill Bay would survive – though these firefighters don’t consider themselves heroes.

However, that is what people across the world are calling them after an image captured by Newcastle Herald photographer Phil Hearne went viral over the weekend. The photo, which shows exhausted firefighters sleeping by the road as flames lap close by, has been seen by 3.7 million people on Facebook. By last night it had received around 4300 messages of thanks.