Amelia lost her firefighter husband at 27. Years later, she learned his job may have killed him.

Seven years ago, Amelia Maria became a widow at the age of 27.

Amelia and her one-year-old son Dennis lost husband and father Mike Maria to acute leukaemia. The 26-year-old had been a Deputy Captain with Queanbeyan City Fire Brigade.

When Mamamia caught up with Amelia, she was recovering from a 16-hour shift in rural NSW, fighting fires in conditions the state has never seen before. Her work was closed down due to the toxic smoke levels in Canberra, so she was home with her kids sewing pouches for wild life rescuers