Hero newlywed firefighter Sam McPaul, 28, tragically killed when truck rolled in New South Wales

The volunteer firefighter who was killed when a truck rolled has been identified as newly wed Samuel McPaul. 

Mr McPaul, 28, was battling a blaze in Jingelling, in Green Valley, about 70km east of Albury on the border of NSW and Victoria, on Monday when strong winds caused the 10-tonne firetruck to roll.

Another crew member, 39, who was also battling the fire in the refuge area of a property, suffered serious burns, while the driver, 52, suffered minor injuries after becoming trapped when the truck was flipped on its roof. 

A second vehicle was also blown over in the same area and the firefighters on board were taken to hospital.

Mr McPaul, was married to his long-time love Megan in April last year. The pair are expecting their first child.

Volunteer firefighter Samuel McPaul (pictured with his wife Megan) was tragically killed when a 10-tonne truck rolled on Monday 

The newly wed had been fighting a blaze in Jingelling, in Green Valley, about 70km east of Albury on the border of NSW and Victoria, on Monday when strong winds caused the 10-tonne firetruck to roll

The newly wed had been fighting a blaze in Jingelling, in Green Valley, about 70km east of Albury on the border of NSW and Victoria, on Monday when strong winds caused the 10-tonne firetruck to roll

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said it was a ‘very, very sad day for the NSW Rural Fire Service family locally and across the state’.

He said the service’s senior chaplin spent time overnight with Mr McPaul’s family. 

His death takes the toll to 10 for Australia’s most recent bushfire season.

Two other firefighters died on December 19 after a tree fell on their truck while they were travelling through Buxton, south of Sydney.  

Andrew O’Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, were later named as the volunteers involved in the tragic accident the following day.

Both men were young fathers and had volunteered with the Horsley Park Rural Fire Service brigade for more than a decade. 

Mr Keaton has a young 19-month-old son Harvey, and Mr O’Dwyer has a 19-month-old daughter Charlotte, and two young sons. 

A resident who lived on the street where the crash took place told Daily Mail Australia the deafening sound near ‘scared the life out of him’.

Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, with his daughter Charlotte

Geoffrey Keaton, 32, was the deputy captain of the Horsley Park RFS brigade

Andrew O’Dwyer (left) and Geoffrey Keaton (right) were killed when their truck rolled off the road after hitting a fallen tree at Buxton, south of Sydney

The RFS on Monday afternoon confirmed a firefighter died battling blazes after the truck rolled

The RFS on Monday afternoon confirmed a firefighter died battling blazes after the truck rolled

He said at the time multiple trucks had passed through the same row of burnt out trees just moments before the tragedy, and said it could’ve happened to anybody.

‘Just the timing of it all,’ he said. ‘Seconds later or seconds earlier and it wouldn’t have happened.’   

Two people also died in South Australian fires before Christmas, including 69-year-old engineer Ron Selth.

His body was found in his Charleston home, which was destroyed by the Cudlee Creek blaze on December 21.

Another person died in a fiery car crash on the same day. 

In early November, just weeks into the horror fire season which has been baring down on the nation for months, three people perished in northern NSW.

George Nole’s body was found in a burnt out car near his home in Glen Innes while 63-year-old Julie Fletcher’s body was pulled from a scorched building in Johns River, north of Taree.

Vivian Chaplain, a 69-year-old woman from Wytaliba, succumbed to her injuries in hospital after attempting in vain to save her home and animals from the blaze. 

The fourth victim was named just days later as 58-year-old Barry Parsons.

His body was discovered in bushland on the southern end of the Kyuna Track at Willawarrin, near Kempsey, on November 13. 

The discovery came five days after he was last seen. That same day he posted on Facebook describing the horror conditions.

‘Seriously looks and sounds like apocolyse (sic) out there. F**ked up being on your own in these times,’ Mr Parsons’ post read.

Mr Parsons had reportedly been living alone in a shed in the remote area.

In addition to the lives lost, more than 1,000 properties have been destroyed across the nation – 900 in NSW alone – and thousands more animals who once called the bushland home have died. 

Authorities have been warning of devastating conditions on Monday – and were expecting the fire front to be unpredictable as weather and wind conditions worsened.

With 10 fires still burning at an emergency warning level in Victoria and another four in NSW, members of the public have been urged to stay on high alert.

A dangerous wind change is predicted to sweep through Victorian fire grounds at about midnight on Monday. 

Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said it was a ‘high-risk day’ in Victoria and those still in left Lakes Entrance, in East Gippsland, may now be stuck there.

‘We’ve just – we recently looked at the columns, and they’re generating their own weather,’ Mr Crisp said.

‘There’s lightning coming out of these columns. It is unpredictable, it’s dangerous out there, and people need to stay tuned to their local conditions and stay across that good information so they can make good decisions.  

 

 

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