Fire Industry News for July 2025

Dozens of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters are working to control a chemical fire at an industrial site at Port Kembla, in the state's Illawarra. Six cylinders containing the highly flammable gas, acetylene, caught alight at the Springhill Road facility just after 10:30 am. The cylinders have been generating significant heat, with their exposure to flames posing a risk of an explosion. Evacuation Fifty workers at the site have been evacuated, as a precaution. FRNSW has deployed m...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews on the state’s far north coast have dealt with an unusual hazardous materials (HAZMAT) emergency. Responding to Triple Zero (000) calls around 7.30 in the morning, firefighters rushed to South Kingscliff beach to find a 44-gallon drum washed up on the shore. The drum indicated it contained 'hydrochloric acid'. Specialist HAZMAT team A specialist HAZMAT team from Tweed Heads was brought in. The firefighters put on protective ‘spillage’ suits...

A working smoke alarm has saved a resident from harm during a fire, sparked by a cordless vacuum cleaner battery at Lake Macquarie. The vacuum cleaner was charging inside a unit on the Old Pacific Highway, Swansea, around 1 pm, when its Lithium-Ion battery burst into flames. The flames then spread to a second vacuum cleaner, stored nearby. The unit’s smoke alarm sounded, alerting the resident, who was cooking in the next room, and neighbors. They quickly removed both vacuum cleaners and...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters in Sydney's south have forced their way into a burning unit and dragged a critically injured man to safety. The ferocious blaze broke out just after 11 am in a bedroom on the first floor of a four-level complex in Hayburn Street, Rockdale. More than 20 firefighters and six fire trucks were deployed to the scene. FRNSW firefighters   FRNSW firefighters forced their way inside the engulfed unit and rescued an unconscious man FRNSW firefighters forc...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is investigating what sparked a major blaze overnight at a therapy business at Maitland, in the state's lower Hunter. More than 30 firefighters from eight fire trucks responded to the emergency in a High Street industrial complex just before 4:30 this morning. FRNSW expert investigators Firefighters were forced to cut their way into the property to contain and extinguish the fire, which took approximately two hours. Their quick actions prevented flames from sp...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters have determined a caravan fire at Soldiers Point, in Port Stephens, was sparked by a faulty gas refrigerator. The mobile home was initially attached to a car, parked on a grass verge on Soldiers Point Road, when it ignited around 1:45 pm. No one was inside at the time, and no injuries occurred. NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers The owner, who lives nearby, was alerted to the emergency by a smoke alarm fitted to the caravan The owner, who lives nearby,...

A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crew has wrangled a venomous snake on the loose in a suburban Sydney backyard. Firefighters at the Menai Fire Station received a distress call about a Red Bellied Black snake wandering in and out of a family home in Kanandah Road, Engadine, around six o’clock last night. FRNSW snake wranglers Team of trained FRNSW snake wranglers arrived at the address and set about tracking down The team of trained FRNSW snake wranglers arrived at the address and set abou...

A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crew has wrangled a venomous snake on the loose in a suburban Sydney backyard. Firefighters at the Menai Fire Station received a distress call about a Red Bellied Black snake wandering in and out of a family home in Kanandah Road, Engadine, around six o’clock last night. The team of trained FRNSW snake wranglers arrived at the address and set about tracking down the one-and-a-half meter snake at the rear of the property. Wildlife rescue organization &l...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews, extinguishing a house fire at Singleton, in the Hunter Valley, have been stunned to see a pet dog emerge from the ruins, covered in fire-fighting foam. The blaze broke out just after 6.30 this morning, causing a female resident to cry out for help. She fled the house and was treated for smoke inhalation by NSW Ambulance paramedics, as FRNSW crews from Singleton, Branxton, Cessnock, Minmi, and Rutherford battled the blaze. Harmless firefighting foam Covered i...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters, conducting a series of caravan safety inspections during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, have expressed concern at the level of complacency around working smoke alarms. Over the past six days, local FRNSW crews have visited parks in Tamworth’s riverside camping area, inspecting caravan and campervan smoke alarms and providing crucial fire safety advice to those attending the popular festival. Additional camping sites The firefighters visite...

A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) team of disaster experts is strategically positioned today, ready to assist the community as Tropical Cyclone Kirrily threatens to strike Far North Queensland. FRNSW has dispatched 23 firefighters to the area as part of a multi-agency NSW deployment led by the State Emergency Service. Queensland’s emergency protocols Many of the FRNSW firefighters are trained in both swift-water rescues and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) skills, recognized globally by the U...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and NSW Police are urging body corporates and apartment block residents to remain vigilant after a spate of fire hydrant system thefts in Sydney’s west. FRNSW’s Fire Safety Unit and Blacktown Police have identified thefts from at least 38 sites across 12 suburbs, including Blacktown, Merrylands, and Eastern Creek, since November last year. Firefighting crews in the event The thefts have involved the removal of around 850 kilograms of copper and brass hy...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators now have confirmed a fire at North Bondi, in Sydney's east, was sparked by a faulty Lithium-ion battery. Four visitors from South America were asleep inside a unit in Curlewis Street, near Old South Head Road, when the blaze broke out just before 4 am. FRNSW firefighters One of them was woken by the sound of small explosions; they alerted the other occupants before they fled the smoke-filled building. Two of the people were forced to make their e...

The Commander of Fire and Rescue NSW’s New England/North-West region will address media outlets about an upcoming campaign to promote caravan fire safety during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. FRNSW crews are planning a sweep through busy local caravan parks this week, checking the condition of smoke alarms and providing van owners with preventative safety advice. visiting caravan and campervanners FRNSW is embarking on a Tamworth Country Music Festival Fire Safety Campaign, remind...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has installed a new $470,000 state-of-the-art firefighting truck at Branxton, in the state’s Hunter Valley, enhancing its emergency response and rescue capabilities in the local community. The Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) Class 2 Pumper enables firefighters to tackle structural, chemical, petrol, and grass fires using up to five times less water than normal. Additional technical rescue equipment The highly efficient system combines foam concentrate with...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has installed a new $470,000 state-of-the-art firefighting truck at Lithgow, in the state’s Central Tablelands, enhancing its emergency response and rescue capabilities in the local community. The Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) Class 2 Pumper enables firefighters to tackle structural, chemical, petrol and grass fires using up to five times less water than normal. Best equipment and technology The highly efficient system combines foam concentrate with compr...

An elderly driver has escaped with minor injuries after his car ploughed into two units at a retirement village on the state's Central Coast. Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) deployed two crews to the scene of the crash in Bias Avenue, Bateau Bay, just after 11 am. It appears the sedan has smashed through a pillar outside the entrance to one of the units, pushing a pile of bricks and rubble against the external wall of a neighbouring unit before coming to a stop. NSW Ambulance paramedics None...

Minister for Emergency Services, Jihad Dib, will inspect the new Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Aerial Platform appliance that’s just been stationed this week at Bateau Bay on the Central Coast.  Priced at $2.5 million, the state-of-the-art truck boasts a Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) which can pump out a mixture of water and foam at a rate of 6000 liters a minute. The Aerial Platform has been centrally based on the coast to meet the future needs of the area’s increasing popu...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) regrets to advise of the death of a firefighter at a house fire at Grose Vale, north-west of Sydney, this morning. The 51-year-old FRNSW on-call firefighter was among the first crews responding to the house, which became engulfed in flames, on Grose Vale Road just before 8 am. FRNSW and NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters both performed CPR until paramedics arrived and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigating the circumstances FRNSW is wor...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have extinguished a large blaze in a scrap metal yard at St Marys in Sydney’s west. The fire broke out amongst 500 tons of scrap at the Christie Street recycling business just after 6 pm. More than 50 firefighters, using 14 fire trucks, battled for five hours to contain the flames, while employees from the business used heavy machinery to break up the piles of metal. Three aerial platforms Three aerial platforms supported fire crews in breathing ap...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have returned control of a major fire scene in a scrap metal yard at St Marys, in Sydney’s west, back to its operators. More than 50 firefighters, using 14 fire trucks, battled the blaze in the Christie Street premises for five hours until 11 o’clock last night, preventing flames in 500 tons of scrap metal from spreading to nearby properties. Employees from the recycling business assisted fire crews, using heavy machinery to disperse the burning pi...

A new chapter in the history of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has been written now, with Jeremy Fewtrell formally recognized as the state's 23rd Fire Commissioner. Commissioner Fewtrell has been honored in a 'Commencement of Command' ceremony during the Graduation Day at FRNSW's Emergency Services Academy at Orchard Hills in Sydney's west. Commissioner's black helmet The occasion was marked by Her Excellency, the Honorable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW The occasion was marked by...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters, battling a blaze in a grain silo at Leeton in the state’s Riverina last week, have discovered a new use for their Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), or drones, that is expected to significantly reduce the length of emergency operations. The smoldering, slow-burning fire broke out in a silo containing 600 tonnes of field peas, within a local business last Friday (24 November). Low levels of smoke were issuing from the top of the silo....

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) today is deploying five 'in-water' strike teams to flood-impacted communities on the state's South Coast, where heavy rainfall is forecast in areas already saturated overnight. The teams, comprising 20 highly trained firefighters and two team pioneers, will be working in Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, Moruya, Bega and Eden, where they will support the NSW State Emergency Service response to any potential flood emergency. NSW Government package FRNSW is deploying speciall...

The Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crew from Ulladulla has elevated its skills to new heights, carrying out a training mission on clifftops at Mollymook, on the state’s south coast. The crew, led by Captain Paul Collins, had an opportunity to test out new equipment and decided to complete on-station exercises before conducting specialist Vertical Rescue training, around 40 meters above sea-level. real-time emergency Drills allowed the firefighters a chance to familiarize themselves with th...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and State Emergency Service crews have joined forces to share their operational know-how during a two-week training program in the Southern Highlands. Firefighters from 385 Moss Vale station recently hosted the SES crew from Wingecarribee, explaining the techniques they use to carry out a variety of different rescues. SES volunteers SES volunteers staged a mock, two-vehicle road crash, encouraging the fire crew to extricate In return, the SES volunteers staged a m...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is issuing an urgent warning about the dangers of Lithium-ion batteries after separate fires in Sydney's inner west and the state's Northern Rivers. Around 8:50 am, FRNSW crews were called to Unwins Bridge Road, St Peters, where a home-made e-bike and battery pack had ignited in the rear yard of a home. Incompatible charging device Firefighters quickly contained and extinguished the blaze. They also placed the battery in water to prevent it from heating uncont...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have identified the danger posed by clutter in a unit, damaged by fire at Parramatta earlier this week. A working smoke alarm saved three residents and their two pets from the blaze in the public housing apartment in Thomas Street, just after 7 am on Monday. Extinguishing the fire Seven fire crews rushed to the scene as 15 people were evacuated from the unit block Seven fire crews rushed to the scene as 15 people were evacuated from the unit block. Firefight...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has prevented a potential catastrophic explosion after a gas main ruptured and caught ablaze at Manly, in Sydney's Northern Beaches. A worker sustained minor burns as a result of the fire, which broke out on Darley Road, near Ashburner Street, around 10:45 am. He was checked over by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to the hospital for further treatment to his face and hands. FRNSW firefighters A dozen FRNSW firefighters worked for two-and-a-half hours to...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have extinguished a fire outside a large factory at Wetherill Park, in Sydney's west. Around 1 pm, more than 50 firefighters and 15 fire trucks were deployed to Redfern Street, where a blaze had broken out in a yard behind a warehouse, used to make tissues, toilet paper, kitchen towels, and napkins. In-built sprinkler system Flames engulfed several large stacks of paper rolls in a sheltered area next to the structure. An in-built sprinkler system at the facil...