Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) News

The efforts of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters and an inbuilt fire wall have prevented a dangerous blaze from spreading from a restaurant to an adjoining real estate office in Baulkham Hills. Firefighters were called to the property on Old Northern Road just before midnight. On arrival, they were met by thick smoke that was billowing from the restaurant that had closed for the night. Fire in the kitchen area Firefighters broke into the building, locating an intense fire burning in th...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews who battled a major building fire in Surry Hills have received special recognition from the City of Sydney during a ceremony. The intense ‘10th alarm’ blaze destroyed a historic Randle Street warehouse on 25 May, with more than 130 firefighters and 20 fire trucks working over several hours to bring it under control. Their extraordinary efforts stopped the inferno from spreading to neighboring high-rise buildings, including apartments, and prevente...

A Newcastle man has been forced to jump out a window to escape a fire, thought to have been started by a faulty Lithium battery-powered e-scooter. The blaze broke out in the lounge room of a home in Macquarie Street, Merewether, just after 11 pm last night, while the occupant was sleeping. A smoke alarm activated and was overheard by a neighbor, who managed to wake the man just in time and allow him to escape outside. Fire and Rescue NSW Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) deployed 24 firefighters...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is responding to a major Hazmat incident at an industrial complex at Girraween, in Sydney's west. Thirty firefighters and eight fire trucks were called to the incident on Mandoon Road, just after 1:30 pm. Occupants of units within the industrial complex had originally reported explosions and yellow colored smoke emitting from a drain. Source of the smoke Firefighters, specializing in chemicals and wearing safety suits, moved through the buildings in the complex loo...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has conducted a hazard reduction burn in the state's north, with another 40 planned across the state, ahead of what's expected to be a challenging fire season. 20 firefighters, including three FRNSW crews and three NSW Rural Fire Service crews, carried out the burn across 2.2 hectares of Mount Mutton at Uralla. It was focused on an area with a high fuel load and surrounded by homes and critical telecommunications infrastructure. Hazard reduction burn "By conducting...

Quick thinking by a resident and an off-duty firefighter has prevented a Lithium battery explosion from burning down a home at Broken Hill, in the state's far west. The resident started charging a newly-purchased solar power generator at his Morgan Street home around 5 pm on Sunday when the battery pack began sparking and making 'popping' noises. The man realized the cells were overheating and in danger of exploding in flames, and he quickly carried the device to his front porch. Lithium batte...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have rescued three ducklings that fell into a drain at Goonellabah, in the state's Northern Rivers. A postman was traveling on Rouse Road, near Pleasant Street, around 8 am, when he noticed the mother duck standing on the roadway. He then saw one car 'clip' the hen's leg, while the driver was swerving to avoid it. FRNSW firefighters FRNSW firefighters arrived on-scene to assist with accessing and removing the three ducklings from the drain The 'postie' safe...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators suspect a fire that damaged a unit at Wentworthville, in Sydney's west, may have been sparked by an electric scooter. Twenty-eight firefighters and seven fire trucks were deployed to attack the blaze, which broke out in a ground-floor unit within the four-level complex in Lane Street, around 8:15 am. Three people inside the unit managed to escape before the flames took hold. One was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for smoke inhalation and later tran...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have returned to the scene of a fatal house fire at Wetherill Park, in Sydney's south-west, to deliver important fire safety advice to locals impacted by the tragedy. A 75-year-old woman and an 81-year-old man were killed in the blaze in Lily Street, last Wednesday, despite the attempts of firefighters and neighbors to rescue them from the heavily secured property. The cause of the fire remains undetermined. Residential fires The couple's deaths brought to...

A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crew from the Hunter has arrived at a home in the nick of time to prevent a lithium battery exploding in flames. Firefighters received a call to their station phone at 9am from a resident of Mary Street, Merewether, who had accidentally punctured the battery, while removing it from a disused mobile phone. The device had begun emitting an unusual odor, a process known as 'off-gassing,' and the resident was seeking expert advice on how to best handle the situation....

A husband and wife team of off-duty firefighters will be considered for bravery awards after saving a semi-conscious girl from a house fire in the Blue Mountains at the weekend. 46-year-old Adoni Maalouf and his wife, Tania, aged 47, were woken in their Wentworth Falls home just after 6 am on Saturday 8 July by his dog barking and screams of 'fire' by a young boy outside. Service with FRNSW Adoni ran to the boy and who said his sister was trapped inside an adjacent bed and breakfast As Tania...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is urging residents of Brookvale, on Sydney’s northern beaches, to take precautions tonight against thick, black smoke emanating from a large fire at a local industrial estate. Sixteen fire engines, including three aerial and ladder appliances, and more than 50 firefighters are battling the ‘fourth alarm’ blaze in a row of brick and iron factory units in Old Pittwater Road. Flames have engulfed a tire and mechanical workshop, creating thick, acrid s...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has credited an automatic sprinkler for limiting the spread of a fire inside a major shopping center in Sydney's south-west. Around one thousand people were evacuated as the electrical blaze broke out in a shoe shop within the mall on Campbell Street, Liverpool, around 12 pm. FRNSW responded with 28 firefighters and seven fire trucks. Prior to their arrival, sprinklers within the building activated and doused the flames, containing the fire to the shop it started in...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have extinguished a fire at a detention center at Villawood, in Sydney's west. More than 40 firefighters were called in to attack the '4th alarm' blaze, which broke out in the two-level facility on Birmingham Avenue around 11:20 am. Among the FRNSW resources deployed to the scene were three aerial pumpers, along with specialist HAZMAT and rescue crews. FRNSW firefighters During the early stages of the fire, three detainees on the top floor smashed windows an...

It’s the latest pride and joy in the engine bays at the Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Station at Inverell – a new $530,000 Bushfire Tanker to protect the state’s north. The Isuzu multi-purpose four-wheel-drive is one of 18 new firefighting appliances being deployed across the state by FRNSW, in line with recommendations arising from the Inquiry into the 2019/20 ‘Black Summer’ bushfire disaster. It features a Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS), which combines foam and...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters from Wollongong can now boast of having among the world's best rescue crews after claiming first place in the technical category at the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) Challenge. Alongside FRNSW crews from Broken Hill and Region South, their skills were put to the test over the four-day event in Adelaide, where they had to perform a number of complicated rescues on mock patients and respond as if the simulations were the 'real deal'. In the...

A handful of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters have arrived home in Sydney as part of an Australasian relief team returning from Canada, where they’ve helped battle that nation’s wildfire emergency. Four of the nine FRNSW firefighters, dispatched to the province of Alberta, returned with five more colleagues about to leave Canada. The FRNSW personnel were appointed to a variety of leadership roles, such as Logistics Managers, Safety and Information Officers, Task Force Comma...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) will be seeking the next generation of local firefighters when it takes to the Happy Days Orange Festival at Bingara, in the state’s north-west, this weekend. The small inland town, which is home to around 1,000 people, has in recent years faced staffing challenges across a number of employment sectors, including emergency services, due to demographic factors. Comprehensive recruitment strategy FRNSW is now undertaking a wide recruitment strategy in the area...

Crews at Fire and Rescue NSW’s Miranda station have taken possession of a new, high-tech Aerial Platform to protect Sydney’s southern suburbs. Valued at $2.5 million, the latest model aerial appliance is one of four new, identical platforms helping to form a ring of high-rise protection around Sydney’s ever-growing skyline. Other Aerial Platforms will be stationed at Hornsby in Sydney’s north, Huntingwood in the west and on the Central Coast. Miranda Fire Stati...

Hornsby Fire Station has received a new, state-of-the-art Aerial Platform to tackle high-rise emergencies in Sydney’s north. Valued at $2.5 million dollars, the high-tech appliance is one of four new Aerial Platforms purchased by Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW). The others will be stationed at Huntingwood in Sydney’s west, Miranda in the city’s south and on the Central Coast. Use a mix of foam and water The trucks use a mix of foam and water to extinguish fires faster t...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators have determined that a faulty electric blanket was the cause of a fatal house fire last night at Yamba, on the state's north coast. Neighbors at the retirement village in Orion Drive carried a woman, believed to be 73 years old, out of the burning, single-level home just after 9 pm. Firefighters and NSW Ambulance Paramedics, at the front of the property, tried in vain to revive the unconscious woman, who had suffered smoke inhalation. Fire crews Fir...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators are assisting Police to determine the cause of a fatal house fire last night at Yamba, on the state's north coast. Just after 9 pm, fire crews from Yamba, Maclean, and Grafton were dispatched to the single-level house, within a retirement village in Orion Drive. wearing breathing apparatus NSW Ambulance paramedics performed CPR on the woman as fire crews As firefighters arrived, they saw a woman, believed to be 73-years-old, suffering smoke inhalatio...

A Fire and Rescue NSW crew from Wollongong is hell-bent on turning the tables when it competes in this week’s Australasian Road Rescue Organization (ARRO) Challenge in Adelaide. Along with Broken Hill and a combined Region South team, the Wollongong firefighters form one of three FRNSW crews chasing top honours in the national titles. Emergency services Wollongong finished second overall in 2022, narrowly losing to South Australia’s Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS), this year&rsquo...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is reminding homeowners to heed its warnings about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries, following another two dangerous fires at the weekend. In the first incident, a blaze broke out in the garage of a home in Hector Street at Bass Hill, in Sydney’s south-west, around 11.15 am on Saturday. Arrival of local firefighters The flames destroyed the bike, which was smashed by residents with a garden hose just before the arrival A man placed an e-bike battery on c...

A special milestone for Thirroul Fire Station will take place this weekend as it celebrates its first 100 years of operation. The first firefighters were stationed there in 1923, with the original crew working from a small garage, equipped only with a hose-reel, hose, and minor appliances. new brick fire station In 1924, the Board of Fire Commissioners granted permission for the construction of a new brick fire station, with the building becoming fully operational on the 4th of September of t...

Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters have raised over $100,000 for Burns Unit victims through their annual 400in4 Charity ride and ultra-marathon runner, Rob Mason. In March this year, 28 FRNSW and ACT Firefighters set up base camp at the NRMA Jindabyne Holiday Park for a week of ‘gears and tears’ for the kids currently doing it tough in the Burns Unit at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Final day of the ride The final day of the ride then saw a race between an ultramarathon...

More than 70 people have been evacuated as Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews work to contain toxic chemicals at an apartment building in Sydney's inner west. Emergency services were called around 11:15 am to the complex on Parramatta Road, Camperdown, where chlorine had reportedly been mixed with hydrochloric acid in a plant room used for an in-ground swimming pool. FRNSW currently has 10 firefighters on-scene, the majority of whom specialize in hazardous materials (HAZMAT) responses. Protect...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have responded to a bus crash at Drummoyne, in Sydney's inner west. The vehicle collided with a ute and a car near the intersection of Victoria Road and Lyons Road just before 12:30 pm. The bus then came to rest at an approximately 30-degree angle on top of a meter-high concrete road divider on Victoria Road. FRNSW firefighters helped free the driver who was briefly trapped in the wreckage. They also assisted in righting the bus, deploying stabilization eq...

A working smoke alarm has saved the life of a woman during a unit fire this morning at Plumpton in Sydney's west. The alarm began sounding in the Woodvale Close home just before 5 am. The woman, aged in her 50s, woke to find a chair in her lounge room alight. She wisely closed the door to the room to isolate the flames and then rang Triple-Zero (000). Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) appliances from Mount Druitt, Blacktown and Huntingwood Fire Stations, including an aerial platform, rushed to the si...

The quick actions of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have stopped a fire in a unit at Kingsgrove, in Sydney's south, from spreading to adjoining homes. The blaze tore through the garage of the two-story Morgan Street property around 7:20 am, also destroying a car that had been parked inside it. Living areas in the same unit sustained significant smoke and heat damage. NSW Ambulance paramedics More than 30 FRNSW firefighters attacked the fire for half an hour, before it was brought under con...