A 28-year-old volunteer firefighter who died while battling a fire in Green Valley, about 70 kilometers east of Albury on the border of Victoria and NSW, was about to be a father.
Another firefighter, 39 years old, suffered serious burns, while the 52-year-old driver suffered minor injuries.
The weather event was terrible, with the ‘fire tornado’ blowing the truck off the ground and trapped firefighters inside after it landed upside down.
Another vehicle was lifted over in the same region as the crew members on board were rushed to hospital.
Mr. McPaul, who has been described a respected and much-loved member of the Morven Brigade, just tied the knot with Megan and they were expecting their first baby, said NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.
He said it was a “very, very sad day for the NSW Rural Fire Service family locally and across the state.”
Mr. Fitzsimmons also said the service’s senior chaplain spent time with Mr. McPaul’s family.
Two other firemen passed away after a tree fell on their vehicle while they were driving through Buxton.
32-year-old Geoffrey Keaton and 36-year-old Andrew O’Dwyer were identified as volunteers involved in the horrific accident the next day. Both of them were young fathers and had volunteered for over ten years.
Mr. O’Dwyer has a 19-month-old daughter and two young boys, and Mr. Keaton has a 19-month-old son.
A resident living on the street where the accident occurred said to Daily Mail that the defeaning sound ‘scared the life out of him.’
He also said that multiple trucks had passed through he same row of burnt trees only moments before the accident.
“Just the timing of it all,” he said. “Seconds later or seconds earlier and it wouldn’t have happened.”
Two people also passed away in South Australian blazes. 69-year-old engineer Ron Selth was found in his home which was destroyed by the Cudlee Creek fire.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families during this difficult time.
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Replaced!