Three Northern Beaches Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighting vehicles were damaged in a bushfire near Campbelltown.
The incident occurred yesterday afternoon (Saturday, 26 September) at Wedderburn, several kilometres south of Campbelltown, adjacent to the Dharawal National Park.
Around 20 Northern Beaches firefighters were deployed to a 41 hectare hazard reduction burn in bush between Katanna Road and Minerva Road at Wedderburn. Around 100 firefighters were involved in the operation, including crews from Davidson, Duffys Forest, Terrey Hills and Tumbledown Dick Rural Fire Brigades.
Reports indicate that the fire intensified unexpectedly around 4.00pm as winds picked up, pushing the fire towards the Northern Beaches crews working a fire edge near Winton Close.
The approach of flames appears to have taken the crews by surprise, with 19 firefighters forced into rapid retreat from the fire front. Three trucks from Duffys Forest, Terrey Hills and Tumbledown Dick brigades were directly impacted by the flames.
It is understood the Northern Beaches crews were working in an area west of Katanna Road near Winton Close (image above) when control of the fire was lost and they were forced to evacuate.
The fire approached properties in the vicinity and two were damaged by the fire, but neither was lost. Two helicopters were tasked to assist with firefighting efforts.
NSW Ambulance crews attended the scene, assessing a number of firefighters, with one treated for smoke inhalation in hospital before being released last night.
Aerial footage from Nine News (main image) shows one RFS truck completely destroyed by fire. It is understood this was the large ‘Cat 1’ firefighting truck from Duffys Forest Rural Fire Brigade (image below). That vehicle is around two years old and is a complete loss.
A near-new truck from Terrey Hills was also impacted by fire, as was Tumbledown Dick (image above). While those vehicles are understood to have sustained direct flame impact, both are believed to be salvageable.
NSW RFS Commissioner Trent Curtin (video below) said an investigation into the incident had commenced but warned this year’s fire risk was heightened.
“I launched an investigation that will look into all of the factors of this hazard reduction burn to make sure that we can learn everything about what happened yesterday and that we take action to make sure that these conditions don’t happen again.
“The safety regulator has been notified and our crews are being looked after.
“There is some risk in undertaking hazard reduction burning, there is risk in firefighting, and we’ll look into all the elements of that as part of the investigation.
“We know that we’re seeing very dry conditions. We’ve had the driest winter on record, we’ve got strong El Niño conditions confirmed. We know that we’re going to see high temperatures and dry conditions through the spring period and that may lead into the summer period,” said Commissioner Curtin.
With a damage bill estimated to be approaching one million dollars, it is expected the investigation will look at how the fire behaviour varied from the prescribed burn.
Specific lines of inquiry are likely to include the location of the fire trucks when they were overrun, and at what point the vehicles’ emergency fire protection systems were activated as they were impacted by flames.
The Commissioner’s warning about the upcoming fire season also highlights the impact the loss of firefighting assets could have for the Northern Beaches.
It leaves a capability gap that will need to be filled either with retired trucks brought back into service or redistribution of existing assets until repairs on the damaged vehicles can be completed.
Member for Davidson Matt Cross (image above) said he was concerned at the news yesterday, but relieved none of the firefighters had sustained serious injury.
“I was very concerned to hear about the three Northern Beaches RFS trucks overrun by fire yesterday while helping to protect the community.
“It is fortunate that none of our volunteer firefighters were seriously injured, but the loss of these vital firefighting assets in the lead-up to fire season is a matter I will be following up to ensure our community remains protected.
“This is a stark reminder that RFS volunteers put themselves in harm’s way. We must do everything we can to keep them safe and make sure they have the equipment they need,” said Mr Cross.
The loss of their firefighting vehicles left around a dozen RFS volunteers stranded at the Wedderburn RFS Station yesterday evening. Local RFS buses were despatched to collect them, bringing them home around 9.00pm.
Images: Nine News, NSW Rural Fire Service, Northern Beaches Advocate
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