Man dies carrying out fire prevention work north of Newcastle

Reporter Bridget Murphy is at Nerong, near Newcastle, on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast.

Transcript

00:00We're here just off the Pacific Highway near Narong, about an hour north of Newcastle in

00:08New South Wales. We did hear, unfortunately, that at about 11pm last night, a member of

00:15the National Parks and Wildlife Service sadly lost his life when he was impacted by a tree

00:21in this area while responding to this bushfire. Now, as you can see behind me, there is some

00:27land that is quite burnt out in this area and we can also see a gate that has some police

00:34tape on there. Now, we haven't been able to confirm yet if this is the access road where

00:39this gentleman did lose his life. However, we have seen in the last hour or so rural fire

00:45service trucks, quite a few arrive in the area prepared to enter this area. Now, just a bit

00:52north of here is that major bulla dealer fire that throughout the last few days we have seen

00:57move to an emergency level at some periods and at watch and act level at other periods. At the

01:03moment, it's at an advice level and has burnt more than 3,400 hectares of land, some in this

01:11Narong State Forest area, some further north. And unfortunately, we have heard that multiple

01:16homes have been destroyed as well, as well as about 10 or so outbuildings. The Rural Fire Service

01:23have said that crews will be entering that area to do further assessments through the day. So it is a

01:30possibility that the number of those damaged homes and properties could rise. Now, further on, this

01:37gentleman who was sadly killed overnight, the National Parks and Wildlife Service have recently sent the

01:42ABC a statement. They said the service is very saddened to confirm the death of one of their

01:48firefighters overnight. They said the gentleman was struck by a tree while working on the bushfire near

01:54Bulladila on the state's mid north coast and that fellow firefighters provided first aid until New South

02:01Wales ambulance arrived. But unfortunately, the man was unable to be revived. New South Wales Premier

02:08Chris Minns spoke about the death earlier this morning. Here's what he had to say.

02:12Obviously terrible and a reminder of how difficult and dangerous this work is and how the people who

02:18put their lives on the line to protect lives and property do an incredible job for us in this state.

02:24Obviously, officials are in the process of contacting that firefighter's family, but it's a deeply

02:30distressing turn of events and a sad day for New South Wales. A spokesperson for the National Parks and

02:36Wildlife Service said the service's thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the gentleman who

02:42did pass away responding to this bushfire. Now, in this area, it is incredibly smoky this morning.

02:50We're just off, as I mentioned earlier, the Pacific Highway, which is one of New South Wales' most busy

02:55highways. It links Newcastle all the way to the Queensland border. We are still seeing that some parts of this

03:02highway are impacted by partial road closures. So people who are moving through this area today are really

03:08being urged by police, rural fire service and fire and rescue to keep vigilant if they are moving through

03:15this area and to also check traffic services and live traffic.com before they travel to stay up to date

03:22with the latest in case things change.