A 59-year-old veteran firefighter has died after being struck by a falling tree while battling a blaze on the New South Wales mid-north coast, marking what the premier described as a 'foreboding beginning' to the bushfire season. The incident occurred on Sunday night near Bulahdelah, where the man, a division commander with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), suffered cardiac arrest and died at the scene.
The firefighter, who had worked for national parks since 1996 and was based at the Lake Munmorah depot for 25 years, was checking on colleagues during a back burn operation. 'Fellow firefighters provided first aid until NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived,' said Alex Graham, deputy secretary of NPWS. Commissioner Trent Curtin of the NSW Rural Fire Service said the tree was 'most likely' damaged by fire, though it was unclear if the blaze or the back burn caused it.
Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib called the death a 'deeply distressing turn of events' and a reminder of the dangers firefighters face. 'These are people who put themselves in harm's way to protect the community, and this particular person has made the ultimate sacrifice,' he said. Premier Chris Minns echoed the sentiment, noting the difficulty and danger of the work.
As of Monday, 52 fires were burning across NSW, nine of which remained uncontained. Over 500 firefighters and 160 vehicles were deployed. The Bulahdelah fire covered about 3,500 hectares, while a large uncontrolled fire at Milsons Gully in the Upper Hunter spanned 11,000 hectares. On Sunday, 16 houses were destroyed in a fire at Koolewong on the Central Coast, with nine more damaged.
Authorities warned that high fire danger conditions would persist on Tuesday, though less severe than the weekend's extreme weather. Storms and damaging winds were expected to keep fire risk elevated across parts of Australia. Federal and state disaster assistance funding has been activated for affected areas.
