Our Community Pantry volunteers Deborah Neal and Jorge Castro were closing up the shop about 9pm when they received a call that a former member's unit was on fire.

Ms Neal said the pair jumped in her van and rushed over to the home on Great Southern Road.

"There was lots of smoke coming from the house when we arrived," she said.

"I grabbed a fire extinguisher from my van and we got inside the unit. We thought the family's young daughter was home, so I start searching through rooms while Jorge worked on the fire.

"Fortunately no-one was home, but we were able to save the family's dog while the cat also escaped from the home."

Mr Castro, of Tahmoor, said the fire broke out on a stove in the unit's kitchen.

"I walked into an inferno of fire, but was able to contain it using the fire extinguisher," he said.

"Unfortunately, the fire reignited again. Fortunately I was able to contain a second time because the fire could have spread quickly if unattended.

"It was all over in about five minutes."

Ms Neal, of Bargo, said it was fortunate the blaze didn't cause more damage.

"The home was connected to several other units, so it's lucky that the fire didn't spread," she said.

Our Community Pantry's founder Paula Zrilic said Ms Neal and Mr Castro deserved great praise for their quick reaction to the incident.

"Deborah and Jorge drove over there, kicked open the door and got to work so quickly. They managed to save the family's dog and the home itself," she said.

"Without the fire extinguisher there, that home would be gone now."

Several NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW crews, police and paramedics arrived on the scene shortly after 9pm.

The Bargo RFS brigade wrote on its Facebook page that quick thinking by local residents helped to contain the kitchen fire.

Firefighters inspected the unit to make sure the blaze was properly contained.

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