Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) News

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Commissioner, Jeremy Fewtrell, has expressed concern about the current winter cold snap gripping the state, warning the public not to take risks when trying to stay warm. Temperatures hit three degrees in Sydney’s south-west at 6.30 am, with a chill factor of 1.8 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Cold snaps in winter 2022 Commissioner Fewtrell recalls New South Wales experienced similar cold snaps in winter 2022 Commissioner Fewtrell recalls N...

Three people have escaped an intense house fire, started by furniture too close to a heater this afternoon at Doonside, in Sydney’s west.  Seven Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews rushed to the single level home in Graham Street around 2.30 pm. A woman, aged 50, and two men, aged 18 and 20, made it out of the house as the flames took hold. Ambulance paramedics to the rescue The house was fitted with smoke alarms but it appears they did not activate They’ve been assessed...

A firefighter has been treated for minor burns to his face after a car fire this morning at Camperdown in inner Sydney. The cabin of the hybrid Volvo SUV caught on fire in Ross Street around 4.40am. A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crew was quickly on scene and found the vehicle smouldering. Unfortunate accident with a firefighter When a firefighter opened a car door, a flashover occurred, causing minor burns to his face. He's been treated at the scene by Ambulance paramedics for the superficial...

The driver of an overturned car carrier has escaped without injury at Kembla Grange, in the state’s Illawarra. Fire crews responded to the crash just before 1 a.m., finding the semi-trailer, with seven new cars on board, had toppled over. Six FRNSW trucks Six FRNSW trucks from Shellharbour, Dapto, Wollongong and Unanderra, managed the emergency incident overnight. Surrounding power lines had fallen during the crash, causing recovery effort delays and causing a small grassfire nearby....

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have rescued a person from a house fire this morning at Lakemba, in Sydney's south-west. Neighbours contacted Triple Zero (000) when they noticed smoke billowing from the roof of the single-level house in Barremma Road around 8.30 am. They knocked on the door of the home but received no answer. Six fire trucks and 22 firefighters were quickly on the scene. NSW Ambulance paramedics A crew, wearing breathing apparatus, entered the home and began a search for oc...

A new multi-purpose fire truck, valued at $660,000, has arrived at Leeton’s Fire and Rescue station to protect the Riverina. The local FRNSW crew has spent the past few days training on the Mercedes Atego Class 1 tanker, familiarising itself with the state-of-the-art vehicle.    It’s regarded as a ‘jack of all trades’ fire truck, capable of negotiating the region’s rugged terrain and attending off-road emergencies. Features of the truck The appli...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters are working to contain a large structural fire at Revesby, in Sydney’s south-west. Shortly after 2:10 pm, FRNSW received multiple Triple Zero (000) calls about a fire at a car wrecking yard in Fitzpatrick Street. More than 20 FRNSW trucks have responded to the incident, including three Aerial Pumpers, each equipped with a ladder that can extend 24 metres into the air. Fire contained The fire has been categorized as an 8th Alarm emergency. FR...

More than 80 Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters are slowly starting to get the upper hand of a large structural fire at Revesby in Sydney’s south-west. Crews have managed to stop the fire from spreading to adjoining properties in Fitzpatrick Street; however, the fire continues to burn in the center of the building, which is full of dismantled cars and car parts. Specialist HAZMAT crews FRNSW is monitoring the water run off to minimize any contaminants going into the waterways Veh...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and SafeWork NSW have successfully engaged the nation’s major food delivery companies and their top e-bike provider, warning riders about the dangers of Lithium-Ion batteries, following a number of devastating fires. For several months, FRNSW and SafeWork NSW representatives have pro-actively met with a range of companies, including Uber Eats and DoorDash, which have readily agreed to educate their delivery riders about how to safely store and charge their e-bi...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Commissioner, Jeremy Fewtrell, will address Sydney food delivery riders tomorrow about the dangers of Lithium-ion e-bike batteries. The advice follows FRNSW’s recent positive engagement with pioneer food delivery companies, UberEats and DoorDash, and e-bike provider, Zoomo, about appropriate safety measures taken to safeguard their contracted riders and the wider community. FRNSW pro-actively engaged the industry after three riders were injured in an e-bike fi...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has assisted specialist NSW Police Rescue and NSW Ambulance in rescuing a man who had fallen from a ladder at a construction site in Epping. Just before 9.00 am, emergency services were called to the property in Cambridge Street, where the man had fallen approximately 3 meters into a confined space, landing heavily on the floor below. FRNSW crew helps rescue man at construction site A crane was used to transport emergency services personnel to the upper levels of t...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters have rescued a man from a burning home in Orange, in the state’s central tablelands. FRNSW crews from Orange and Bathurst responded to the fire shortly before 3.00 a.m., after reports that flames could be seen coming through the windows of the Icely Road home. FRNSW crews respond to house fire in Orange Crews arrived to find the single level home well alight and immediately set about tackling the blaze. During a rapid search of the home, firefigh...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters have tackled a house fire at Narromine, about forty kilometers west of Dubbo, preventing the blaze from spreading to neighboring homes. FRNSW crews from Narromine and Trangie responded to the blaze on Moss Avenue, alongside Rural Fire Service (RFS), NSW Police and NSW Ambulance around 11:30 pm at night. FRNSW crews respond to house fire on Moss Avenue Superintendent Anthony Hojel has commended the efforts of attending crews On arrival, crews were conf...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has boosted its fleet of fire engines in the Blue Mountains with the arrival of a new bushfire tanker at Blackheath. The Class 1 tanker is valued at $450,000 and is the latest of 34 new appliances funded by the NSW Government after the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires. FRNSW’s new bushfire tanker One of its most impressive features is its ‘Halo’ cabin protection system The four-wheel drive Isuzu is an off-road vehicle that can carry more water than...

The gas supply has been cut at the scene of an explosion and townhouse collapse at Whalan in Sydney’s west, allowing Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) teams to enter and search the rubble. The blast occurred just before 1 pm, leveling most of the two-storey townhouse and causing widespread damage to neighbouring properties in the residential complex in Waikanda Crescent. Two women, aged in their 60s and 70s, one confined to a wheelchair, were initially rescued by firefighters and treated b...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have rushed to the scene of an explosion and building collapse this afternoon at Whalan, in Sydney’s west. The blast occurred in Waikanda Crescent, just before 1 pm. FRNSW firefighters and other first responders have rescued two people, a woman in her 60’s and a wheelchair-bound woman, in her 70’s, from the ruins and have commenced a search and rescue operation to determine if others are trapped in the rubble. The women have been medically as...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have begun clearing rubble at the scene of an explosion and building collapse at Whalan, in Sydney’s west. The blast, in Waikanda Crescent, rocked the neighborhood, just before 1pm, leveling most of a two-story townhouse. Emergency services rescue people Emergency services have evacuated five people from the scene. Two of them, women aged in their 60’s and 70’s, one in a wheelchair, have been rescued by FRNSW firefighters. They’ve been...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), Police and Ambulance rescue teams are continuing pain-staking efforts to clear debris from the scene of the explosion and townhouse collapse at Whalan in Sydney’s west. The first responders are trying to determine whether anyone remains trapped under the ruins of the collapsed two-story building. A woman remains unaccounted for. Dozens of FRNSW Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) technicians, including firefighters who responded to last year’s earthquake disa...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has ended its search and rescue operation after the discovery of a body at the site of the Whalan townhouse collapse. Much of the scene was cleared of debris after a pain-staking weekend operation involving FRNSW, Police Rescue and specialist NSW Ambulance officers. FRNSW Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Using special core drills, technicians then made holes in the larger concrete slabs FRNSW Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) experts propped up a dangerously-perched fi...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is continuing to combat a fire at an animal feed manufacturing facility in Bomaderry on the state’s South Coast. FRNSW firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm at the facility in Bolong Road just before 9.30 am on Monday. On arrival, the crews found a smouldering fire in a silo, containing 600 tons of pelletised and powdered feed. Mitigating the situation Although the deep seated fire in the silo continues to smoulder, firefighters have stabilized th...

A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) truck has been decorated with distinctive indigenous artwork to commemorate Reconciliation Week. The design is a joint collaboration by first nations FRNSW firefighters, Muliyan Waters, Shawn Orcher, and Brodee Mate, who worked together at Redfern Fire Station. The truck will be publicly unveiled from midday tomorrow, the first day of winter, at the Sydney Swans Fan Day, at The Plaza, between the Royal Hall of Industries and Hordern Pavilion at Moore Park. Fi...

A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crew, specially trained in drone use, has located a person missing in bushland near Pitt Town, on Sydney’s north-western outskirts. NSW Police had a concern for the welfare of the man seen entering bushland, but a ground search into the night proved unsuccessful. They requested the assistance of FRNSW, which dispatched a crew from Leura in the Blue Mountains to the scene off Airstrip Road. Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems The firefighters are specia...

Firefighters, NRL stars and other top athletes are urging households across the state to make sure they have working smoke alarms fitted in their homes, as Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) launches its annual Winter Fire Safety Campaign.  New figures reveal that last winter, nearly half (49%) of the 1080 homes that were impacted by fire did not have a working smoke alarm, or any alarm, in place. Most residential fires Residential fires last winter occurred in Canterbury-Banksto...

Media outlets are invited to attend the local launch of Smoke Alarm Action Day, an initiative designed to combat complacency around fire safety in the home. The Action Day, on Saturday 1 June, will kick off Fire and Rescue NSW’s 2024 Winter Fire Safety Campaign. FRNSW is concerned that over the past two winters, half the homes damaged by fire in NSW, either weren’t fitted with a smoke alarm or if they were present, they were not in working order. This initiative will encou...

Emergency Services Minister, Jihad Dib, will join FRNSW Commissioner, Jeremy Fewtrell, and RFS Assistant Commissioner, Stuart Midgley, at a media conference to launch Smoke Alarm Action Day, aimed at combating public complacency this winter. Figure of missing alarms In winter 2022, of the 959 residential fires in NSW, 50% of homes did not have a smoke alarm fitted or the alarm present wasn’t working. A record 17 people died that season. Last winter, the figure of missing/inoperative ala...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) continue to combat a silo fire at a food manufacturing facility in Bomaderry, on the state’s south coast. FRNSW firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm activation at the facility in Bolong Road just before 9.30 am. On arrival, the crews found a smouldering fire in a silo, containing 600 tonnes of grain pellets.  HAZMAT and rescue teams Bolong Road has been closed in both directions, and nearby businesses have been evacuated FRNSW crews, a scie...

Recently-installed smoke alarms have saved the lives of a family of 10 during an overnight house fire at Macquarie Fields in Sydney’s south-west. Three Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) trucks and 12 firefighters initially responded to the blaze in the two-level house around 2.15 this morning. They called in another two fire trucks and crews as the fire took hold of the home. new smoke alarms FRNSW crews returned to the house around 6.30 am when the fire re-ignited in the roof FRNSW cre...

A man, suffering from smoke inhalation, has been admitted to hospital after an e-bike fire in a unit block at Revesby, in Sydney's south-west, overnight.  The blaze broke out in a garage beneath a two-level block of apartments in Doyle Road, around 1.15 am. Effects of smoke inhalation When crews from two Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) appliances arrived on scene, they found a man, believed to be 70-years-old, suffering the effects of smoke inhalation after trying to extinguish the flames hi...

Fifteen people have been evacuated during a silo fire at a food manufacturing facility in Bomaderry, on the state’s south coast.  Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm activation in Bolong Road, just before 9.30 am. FRNSW on-site staff On arrival, the crews found a smouldering silo, containing 600 tonnes of grain On arrival, the crews found a smouldering silo, containing 600 tons of grain. FRNSW is working with on-site staff to mechanically...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have responded to a shopping centre at Swansea, at Lake Macquarie, where a car has careered into a store. The incident occurred just after 9.30 this morning at the rear of the Pacific Highway property. The driver appears to have lost control of the Ford in the shopping centre car park and the vehicle has ploughed through the wall of a Haberdashery shop, a local, family-owned business for more than 55 years. Swansea Fire Station Two people inside the stor...