Liam Moffitt is living the dream of most four-year-olds.
The preschooler, from Glebe in Sydney's inner west, is on a mission to visit as many of the 334 Fire and Rescue stations in New South Wales (FRNSW) as he can, in what has morphed from a fascination to a fundraising drive.
Dressed in his own custom-made firefighting uniform, he has already ticked off 85 locations following a week of stopovers through the Illawarra, including Wollongong, Bulli, Corrimal, Warrawong, Unanderra, Dapto and Shellharbour.
Dad Brad Moffitt said when they first started out, he would accompany his son hand-in-hand and greet crews on shift.
"[But now] he walks into the stations like he owns the place," he said.
Mr Moffitt said Liam's admiration for firefighting began two years ago after simply watching a fire truck roll out of his local station.
"For the first two months he'd say, 'Go, go, go. We've got a call out, put my fire suit on.' And I'm like, 'Okay, let's have breakfast first. And then we can go past the station.'"
During each visit, crews would mirror Liam's enthusiasm.
"He even got a little look at a drone at the Sawtell Station in Coffs Harbour.
"[The firefighters] are such good role models for him."
When asked why he loves visiting fire stations, Liam said he enjoyed collecting trauma teddies for at-home cuddles.
"They have amazing toys," he said.
Pint-sized fundraiser
By the time Liam visited his 70th station at Cronulla Fire and Rescue late last year he was reciting and even querying crews about the tricks of the trade.
Mr Moffitt said he became increasingly concerned their visits might burden crews who were especially busy preparing for their annual Beat the Burn fundraiser.
"That's when I thought, 'What an opportunity to help … the burns victims.'"
Over the past 18 years, Beat the Burn has raised more than $1.2 million for research and equipment for the Burns Unit at Westmead Children's Hospital.
All funds are collected using old FRNSW structural helmets that have been saved from landfill and repurposed as charity boxes.
Now, Liam is Beat the Burn's very own fundraiser as he uses a helmet to collect the spare change of the firefighters he meets.
"I put down $2,000 [as our fundraising goal] thinking we might get there but we've already surpassed that," Mr Moffitt said.
Helping young burns survivors
Last month, Liam visited Gosford Fire and Rescue and shared a hug with burns survivor Bella Birkett who has benefited from Beat the Burn.
Bella lives at Gorokan, on the New South Wales Central Coast, and was six when she suffered burns to half her body.
Mum Kandice Boom said her daughter received superficial to deep dermal burns to her legs, torso, and inner arms in a "tragic wrong place, wrong time" event.
"Her injuries were sustained by a eucalyptus stump that was within a lit fire pit. It combusted [and] sent a fireball towards Bella," she said.
"She was fully engulfed when her amazing uncle tackled her and put her out."
Bella was airlifted to Westmead Children's Hospital where she underwent several months of treatment.
"[There was] a very gruelling procedure where [doctors] had to strip back all the dead skin until they found viable skin, which essentially means that has to bleed for it to be healthy.
"And then she started to have wheelchair privileges … and just dangling her legs over the edge of the bed. Then it progressed to standing and some steps, which was a beautiful moment."
'A little champion'
Ms Boom said funds raised by the Beat the Burn were used to supply the countless number of bandages required for Bella's recovery.
"This is why this fundraiser hits so home to us," she said.
"I can't even begin to express how much care goes into a burn survivor. Like they're an outpatient for life. So initially, care never stops, it just decreases over time."
Ms Boom described Liam as "a little champion" who remained unfazed by Bella's bandaged limbs and visual scars.
"It's very hard for a child to I guess get back into the community with a visual scar that people don't necessarily understand.
"Liam has the biggest heart! You can tell that he's going to make a difference."