Bushfires ravaging the outskirts of Sydney have turned deadly after two volunteer firefighters were killed when a Rural Fire Service truck rolled and smashed into a tree.
Paramedics rushed to Wilson Drive in Buxton, 150km south-west of Sydney, just before 11.30pm on Thursday when the crash happened as firefighters battled the Green Wattle Creek blaze during a day of fierce bushfire activity.
Both the driver and the front passenger died at the scene but three other firefighters were injured and treated by paramedics.
Rural Fire Service crews work to protect a property impacted by bushfire on Hassall Road in Buxton
Hassall Road in Buxton as the Green Wattle Creek Fire threatens a number of communities in the south west of Sydney
Bushfires ravaging the outskirts of Sydney have turned deadly as two firefighters have been killed after a Rural Fire Service truck rolled and smashed into a tree (pictured: fires in Buxton)
The RFS confirmed the news in the early hours of Friday morning.
‘The Service’s thoughts are with all the firefighter’s family, friends and fellow brigade members,’ it said in a statement.
‘This is an absolutely devastating event in what has already been an incredibly difficult day and fire season.’
NSW Police said a crime scene was established with the Crash Investigation Unit looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Meanwhile, two other firefighters had to be placed in induced comas after being overrun by flames at Bargo, while another three were injured.
A 56-year-old man suffering burns to his face and legs and a 28-year-old woman with burns to her face both had to be airlifted to Concord Hospital in ‘serious conditions’.
An apocalyptic trail of destruction was left in the wake of the flames south-west of Sydney as homes were flattened and hundreds of people forced to evacuate.
Fires tore through Buxton on Thursday with 20 properties being destroyed, while the neighbouring towns of Balmoral and Bargo also lost 20 homes.
NSW RFS captain Jon Russell said he thought he was going to die as his crew were trapped in their melting fire truck by a sharp change in wind direction.
The firefighters were battling the 415,000 hectare megafire that tore through Buxton (a property in Buxton pictured)
A destroyed home sits on a property after a bushfire passed through in Buxton
A property impacted by bushfire on Hassall Road in Buxton as the Green Wattle Creek Fire threatens a number of communities in the south west of Sydney
‘As I got out of the driver’s seat, they came back screaming “Get back in the truck get back in the truck”,’ he said.
‘We stuck hard up against the garage because it was the only thing I could see … It was unbelievable the speed that moved at. Of all the days I have been a firefighter, today is the only day I thought it would be my last.’
The Hume Highway was also shut between Campbelltown and Mittagong, with the blaze threatening to jump the road.
Motorists have been warned they face having their holiday plans ruined by the bushfires blazing around the vital motorway connecting the region with Sydney.
A property was flattened in Buxton, 150 kilometres southwest of Sydney as residents were told it was too late to leave
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency earlier on Thursday, ahead of what was predicted to be one of the most dangerous bushfire days in the state’s history
The devastating blazes have prompted NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian to declare a state of emergency for the next seven days and urged any travellers to reassess their holiday plans.
‘As bad as conditions are today, Saturday is going to be worse,’ NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday afternoon.
‘If you are told a road is closed, if you are told not to travel please take the advice, this is a state of emergency, we don’t take it lightly.
‘It’s normally a special time of the year, but we are under extreme circumstance and we just need everybody to listen to the warnings.’
But the Bureau of Meteorology said the worst is still yet to come with a slight relief in temperatures on Friday before an ‘exceptionally hot air mass’ blasts New South Wales on Saturday.
‘Saturday has the potential to be a very challenging day for NSW and ACT residents, with severe to extreme heatwave conditions, deteriorating air quality and gusty wind changes which will lead to dangerous fire conditions,’ meteorologist Andre Peace told The Daily Telegraph.
A swing set appeared to be the only remaining structure on a fire-ravaged Buxton property
Burnt-out cars sat in fire-ravaged bushland in Buxton as fire threatened multiple communities south-west of Sydney
Ms Berejiklian acknowledged Saturday is going to be an even bigger challenge than Thursday.
Even more crushing for the firefighters battling to keep the bushfires under control was the fact many of them lost their own homes to the blazes.
‘They’re absolutely shattered – they are devastated by loss but it goes that little further when it’s your own home or the colleague you’ve got sitting on the fire truck next to you,’ NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told the Illawarra Mercury.
Residents in many towns have now been told it is too late to leave.
Adding to the headaches for fire fighters is a southerly change, due to hit on Thursday and push the blaze towards southern Sydney suburbs including Tahmoor.
Residents in Tahmoor, Pheasants Nest, Buxton, Couridjah, Thirlmere, Bargo, Balmoral and Yanderra have been told it is too late to leave.
A wall of smoke and fire confronts a member of the Rural Fire Service at Green Wattle in the Blue Mountains