A deadly night on the Mid North Coast
A veteran New South Wales firefighter has been killed by a falling tree while working on a blaze near Bulahdelah, in what the premier has described as a “foreboding” start to the state’s bushfire season.
The 59-year-old National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) field officer was working as a divisional commander on the fireground at Nerong, about 90km north of Newcastle, when he was struck on Sunday night. Colleagues performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but he went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene.
His death comes as dozens of fires burn across NSW and Tasmania, destroying homes and signalling an early, dangerous fire season barely a week into summer.
A respected firefighter with nearly 30 years’ service
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the man joined NPWS in 1996 and had worked out of the Lake Munmorah depot for around 25 years, building a reputation as an “experienced firefighter” and divisional commander trusted on the most complex firegrounds.
NPWS officials described him as a highly regarded colleague whose death will be deeply felt across the close-knit firefighting community. It is the first time an NPWS firefighter has been killed on the fireground since 2011, underscoring the risks faced by specialist land-management crews as well as volunteer brigades.
Naomi Stephens, NPWS executive director for coastal operations, said the work parks firefighters do is “inherently dangerous” and that the service is now focused on supporting both the man’s family and the colleagues who witnessed the incident.
How the incident unfolded at Nerong
Emergency services were called to Little Nugra Road at Nerong at about 10.45pm on Sunday after reports that a firefighter had been hit by a falling tree while crews worked on containment operations around the Bulahdelah fire.
The man was part of an NPWS crew assisting with back-burning and strengthening control lines around a blaze that has now scorched several thousand hectares on both sides of the Pacific Highway.
Rural Fire Service (RFS) commissioner Trent Curtin said the firefighter was moving around the fireground checking in on other crews and ensuring they had the latest information when the tree came down — likely weakened by fire damage.
Police have established a crime scene and SafeWork NSW has been notified. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Leaders pay tribute: ‘The ultimate sacrifice’
NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib called the death “the ultimate sacrifice”, stressing that firefighters routinely put themselves in harm’s way to keep communities safe. He urged the public to honour that sacrifice by taking fire warnings seriously and preparing their properties.
Premier Chris Minns said it was a “deeply distressing” day for the state and a stark reminder of how dangerous frontline fire work can be. He described the opening weeks of summer as a “quite foreboding beginning” to the bushfire season.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered condolences to the man’s family and colleagues, saying the tragedy was a sombre reminder of the risks emergency services personnel face “to keep our homes and communities safe”.
A state already under siege from fire
The firefighter’s death comes at a time when NSW is already under severe bushfire pressure.
As of Monday, about 50–52 fires were burning across the state, with around nine to ten still uncontained, according to fire authorities.
Among the hardest-hit communities:
- Koolewong, on the Central Coast, where a fast-moving blaze over the weekend destroyed at least 16 homes and damaged many more after embers reportedly jumped more than a kilometre across water.
- Bulahdelah and the surrounding Mid North Coast, where the fire that claimed the firefighter’s life has burned thousands of hectares and destroyed several houses.
- Milsons Gully in the Upper Hunter, where a large fire has scorched sprawling tracts of bush and farmland.
Further south, dozens more homes have been lost in Tasmania, where a blaze at Dolphin Sands on the east coast destroyed 19 houses and damaged many other structures before rainfall allowed firefighters to bring it under control.
Federal and state disaster assistance has been activated for affected regions including the Central Coast, Mid Coast, Upper Hunter, Muswellbrook, Warrumbungle and Dubbo.
‘Foreboding’ conditions: danger not over
Although a cool change and increased humidity have brought temporary relief after a punishing heatwave, authorities warn that the underlying risk remains high.
RFS and Bureau of Meteorology forecasts point to renewed hot, dry and windy conditions in coming days, with high fire danger expected in parts of inland and coastal NSW.
Commissioner Curtin has cautioned that even without “extreme” ratings, a high fire danger day still means dangerous conditions: elevated temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds and the potential for fast-moving fires.
Officials are particularly concerned about complacency after several wetter-than-average years when bushfire activity was relatively subdued. They warn that many households have slipped back into old habits despite rapidly drying landscapes.
Climate backdrop: a longer, harsher fire era
Scientists and agencies have repeatedly warned that Australia’s warming climate is amplifying bushfire risk. National average temperatures are already about 1.5C higher than in 1910, increasing the frequency and severity of heatwaves and drying events that prime forests and grasslands to burn.
The current run of fires in NSW and Tasmania is being seen by many experts as part of this broader pattern: shorter, milder shoulder seasons between winter and summer, and a greater chance of large, destructive fires early in the official fire period.
For communities still recovering from previous disasters — from the 2019–20 “black summer” fires to recent floods — the rapid swing back to severe bushfire conditions is especially jarring.
Communities in mourning, but also on notice
On the Mid North Coast, local leaders say the firefighter’s death has deeply shaken small towns that already pride themselves on close ties to NPWS and RFS crews. Bulahdelah and Nerong residents described the loss as devastating and spoke of their gratitude for those who continue to defend their homes.
At the same time, mayors across fire-hit regions have warned that the events of the past week show “everybody is vulnerable” during summer extremes: coastal suburbs, rural properties, holiday shacks and urban fringes alike.
Authorities are urging households to:
- Review and update bushfire survival plans
- Clear gutters and remove flammable material from around buildings
- Stay tuned to RFS apps, local radio and emergency alerts
- Be ready to leave early on high-risk days, rather than waiting for last-minute warnings
Honouring a life lost on the fireground
For now, the name of the firefighter has not been publicly released, pending formal identification and family wishes. But within NPWS and the wider firefighting community, he is already being remembered as a leader who dedicated nearly three decades to protecting parks, wildlife and communities across NSW.
As tributes flow from colleagues, political leaders and the public, one message is repeated: this was a man who died doing what he had done for most of his working life — trying to keep others safe on the worst days.
His death, at the very start of a season described by leaders as “difficult” and “foreboding”, is a brutal reminder of the human cost behind every bushfire warning, every evacuation order, and every blackened hillside.
For the crews still on the line, and the communities they protect, the task now is twofold: to keep fighting the fires ahead — and to ensure that the sacrifice made on a dark night near Bulahdelah is not in vain.
7 years in the field, from local radio to digital newsrooms. Loves chasing the stories that matter to everyday Aussies – whether it’s climate, cost of living or the next big thing in tech.
