NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) The 2 firefighters killed in a vehicle accident last night are Deputy Captain Geoffrey Keaton 32yrs & Firefighter Andrew O’Dwyer 36yrs, both from Horsley Park Brigade. The Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said he had spent the evening with the families of the dead firefighters. The RFS family is in mourning.”Tributes were flowing on the NSW RFS Facebook page on Friday for the two firefighters, while the Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade page posted a poem ending with “forever in hearts, always in our memories”. The NSW RFS officially said 20 homes may have been lost, but the deputy commissioner, Rob Rogers, acknowledged on Friday there were reports that 40 buildings had been destroyed. Firefighters hoped to make the most of lower temperatures across NSW on Friday before extreme weather returns on Saturday.

Source: The Guardian December 19, 2019 23:22 UTC