The courageous rural fire crew who lost two mates to a devastating NSW bushfire are bravely riding back into danger in memory of their fallen friends.
Volunteer firefighters Andrew O’Dwyer and Geoffrey Keaton were killed when their truck rolled of the road at Buxton, near Sydney, on Thursday night.
In a moving message, the Horsley Park Rural Fire Service said they would head back into the raging Green Wattle Creek blaze on Saturday in their honour.
Both men, both loving fathers, had been volunteers at Horsley for more than a decade.
‘In true Horsley Park spirit, our crew are heading out today as part of a Cumberland Zone Strike Team in memory of Geoff and Andrew,’ it said.
‘To all crews in the field today, stay safe and look after each other.’
The courageous Horsley Park Rural Fire Service vowed to ride out and battle the fires on Saturday in memory of their fallen friends
Andrew O’Dwyer (left) and Geoffrey Keaton (right) were killed when their truck rolled off the road after hitting a fallen tree on Thursday night at Buxton, south of Sydney
Crew members at the Horsley Park Rural Fire Service mourn the loss of their fallen friends (pictured) on Friday
Replying to a supporter on their Facebook page, the crew wrote they were ‘riding with Geoff and Drew’.
The men are likely to face some of the worst conditions yet, with blistering heat and high winds proving a fatal combination for the NSW bushfires.
The ‘tight-knit’ group were left devastated by the crash, which left another three of their team in hospital.
Mr O’Dwyer, 36, and Mr Keaton, 32, have been remembered as heroes by their colleagues and the Prime Minister.
Members of the Horsley Park Rural Fire Service broke down in tears (pictured) as they remembered the firefighters on Friday
The station’s flags were lowered to half mast on Friday (pictured) as colleagues of the firefighters paid tribute
‘They were bravely defending their communities with an unmatched spirit and a dedication that will forever set them apart amongst our most courageous Australians,’ Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement.
‘Their sacrifice and service saving lives and saving properties will be forever remembered. I wish those injured all the best in their recovery.’
Just hours before his death Mr O’Dwyer – a father-of-three – shared a video of him and a colleague battling a blaze.
Mr Keaton had risen to the role of deputy captain after joining the Horsley Park RFS brigade in 2006.
The helmets of Mr O’Dwyer and Mr Keaton were laid out at the Horsley Park Rural Fire Service (pictured)
Mr O’Dwyer (pictured, centre) leaves behind his wife Melissa (left), young daughter Charlotte (right) and two young boys
Both Mr O’Dwyer and Mr Keaton – who has a son – were less than a week out from Christmas with their families.
‘I understand they were a pretty tight-knit group,’ RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said on Friday morning.
‘This is quite a tight brigade and that will impact significantly on that group.
‘At the end of the day everybody feels for these people and their families… people have got to try and put that aside and keep going.’
Three other firefighters who were in the truck with Mr O’Dwyer and Mr Keaton were rushed to hospital.
A moving memorial was held in their honour on Friday, just hours before the brave crew went back out to fight.
Mr O’Dwyer (pictured, far left) stands in front of the truck he was riding in on Thursday night with his Horsley Park RFS colleagues and Australian Idol winner Shannon Noll
In an emotion fueled tribute, volunteer firefighters (pictured) wiped away tears and comforted one another as they mourn Mr Keaton and Mr O’Dwyer on Friday
The NSW RFS has created a dedicated bank account to collect donations for the families of the two brave men.
Mr Keaton had a son Harvey with his partner Jess, and Mr O’Dwyer had a daughter, Charlotte, both aged 19 months old and born just two days apart.
On the night of Mr Keaton’s death, his father John was fighting a mega blaze in Gospers Mountain northwest of Sydney – while his son was at the Green Wattle Creek Fire.
RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reports on Friday: ‘There is a definition of hero out there and these two absolutely line up to it and we owe it to honour them and remember them.
Mr Keaton and Mr O’Dwyer’s were killed after their RFS truck (pictured) crashed into a fallen tree and rolled
A tree is engulfed by flames (pictured) after 45C temperatures and 100km/h winds created a perfect storm in the NSW Blue Mountains this week
‘They’re ordinary, everyday individuals – like you and I – that go out and simply want to serve and protect and make a difference in their local community and they don’t ever go out in the knowledge that they might not come home from that shift.’
Mr Fitzsimmons said the wives of the fallen firefighters were in ‘extraordinary shock and despair’.
‘They are at a loss,’ he said.
‘They’re in extraordinary shock and natural despair at the enormity of what’s confronting them and to try and comprehend the tragedy that’s unfolded.’
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian met with the firefighters after the loss of Mr O’Dwyer and Mr Keaton and said it was an ‘honour’ to spend time with them.
In a separate incident, two firefighters were placed in induced comas after being overrun by flames at Bargo, while another three were injured.
Temperatures soared across much of Australia on Saturday (pictured), making conditions even more perilous for the crews