Australian fire service shares terrifying video of firefighters sheltering in their truck
If you haven't quite seen the fury of the catastrophic bushfires burning out-of-control across Australia up close yet, this may be it.
A fire and rescue crew, from the suburb of Wyoming in the state of New South Wales, recorded a terrifying moment at around 3 p.m. local time on New Year's Eve, when their truck was surrounded by a bushfire.
The strike team from Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Station 509 were located on Hames Road on the outskirts of South Nowra — an area currently listed with a Bushfire Emergency Warning, the highest level of bushfire alert — when the raging fire blazed around the truck.
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FRNSW told Mashable the crews were protecting properties in the area. Two trucks found themselves in the direct path of the fire, and the crews were forced to take shelter in their vehicles as the fire front passed.
One crew member in one of the trucks filmed the event, and the video was later posted by the fire service on Twitter and Facebook. It is unfathomable.
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Once the fire front had passed, the firefighters were able to get out of their trucks and make their way to safety. The trucks were unable to be saved. There was another truck located nearby, but it was unable to assist the two lost due to the intensity of the fire.
The crews were transported to Nowra Fire Control Centre for assessment by the NSW Ambulance team, and four firefighters were taken to hospital, however only as a precautionary measure — no crew members were injured in these events.
Australia's bushfire crisis has seen over 11 million acres burned since November, with approximately 900 homes ruined in NSW alone. Fierce winds, limited rainfall, and high temperatures leading to a historical heatwave have caused rapid spreading.
Fires are also burning in the states of Tasmania and Victoria — where, in the town of Mallacoota, thousands of people were told to jump into the ocean as the fires approached.
Nine people have died. Three volunteer firefighters were among them.
UPDATE: Dec. 31, 2019, 11:59 a.m. GMT Added additional information provided by the Fire and Rescue Service NSW.
Additional reporting by Amanda Yeo.
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
