LOCAL firefighters strapped on their gear and headed for the Hunter Valley on Sunday to help fight the 10 emergency-level fires currently burning across New South Wales.
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The heavy tanker and four firefighters from Rushworth, one from Kyabram, two from Girgarre and two from Tongala dispatched to assist NSW Regional Fire Services and expect to travel home Friday.
CFA District 20 staff Bryan Suckling and Lisa Brettschneider will oversee on-ground operations of the state deployment from CFA of about 25 tankers and 125 personnel.
District 20 operations manager Peter Taylor said the crews have arrived at Singleton army base above Newcastle and are awaiting deployment.
“These fires are quite unique,” Mr Taylor said.
“We have sent crews to NSW before but the number of fires in NSW and Queensland is unprecedented – they’re pretty much all along the Great Dividing Range.”
A total of 286 firefighters, 76 vehicles - including 55 tankers and 21 operational support vehicles - are now in the Hunter Valley and Goulburn region, while crews from District 18 have stayed behind to defend the Loddon Mallee Region.
“We’re very proud of all the people we send away and we’re obviously concerned about their health and wellbeing, but they’ll always put safety first,” Mr Taylor said.
“They’re extremely well-trained, have state-of-the-art equipment and we know they work really well together as a team.”
State duty officer John Katakouzinos said interstate firefighting crews are vital during the ongoing catastrophic bushfire emergency in NSW.
“We’d like to thank not only the firefighters who give up their time to protect lives and properties in NSW, but also the families, loved ones and businesses that allow our members to assist with this emergency,” Mr Katakouzinos said.
“It’s important to recognise our support members working to transport CFA vehicles to the bushfire areas and the resources working to assist crews to safely work on the fire grounds.
“It’s paramount we continue to work as one to take on the tragic bushfires currently gripping NSW.”