Queensland fireys on way

A CONVOY of Queensland firefighters arrived in NSW yesterday to fight unprecedented bushfires that have claimed the lives of 16 people.

With only 24 hours notice, the convoy of 54 Rural Fire Service volunteers and 21 fire and rescue personnel were deployed from Brisbane.

They will fight bushfires in the Wollongong area and protect homes near Sydney.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Acting Inspector Joel Gordon said conditions in NSW would spike today, with temperatures up to 47C and winds of up to 90km/h.

“I cannot overstate how dangerous this situation is potentially going to be,” he said.

“We are going into a fire ground in a state where they have already lost 15 lives.

“Three of those were our fellow firefighters.

“We are going to be confronted with images that people may ... find distressing.”

Mum-of-four Kathy Hill held back tears when she spoke of how proud she was of her husband, Craig, who was travelling interstate to fight fires for the first time.

“He has been a firefighter for 4½ years, so still fairly new at the game,” Mrs Hill said.

“It’s really important for them to go and give the guys a rest and help wherever they can. I’m sure if the roles were reversed they would come and help us out – the NSW fireys would definitely come.”

RFS volunteer Christy Lewis, 31, left her three children at home on her sixth deployment to NSW since 2018.

“NSW people come up here and they help us when we need help, so it’s only natural that you return the favour,” Ms Lewis said.

Her partner, also a firefighter, is staying home to look after the kids.

“He said to me be safe, be careful, it’s like a war zone down there,” she said.