‘Just get us out of here’: Firefighters describe slim escape

The brave and lucky firefighters who featured in a viral video showing their truck being overrun by fire south of Nowra have described their ordeal. HERE’S WHAT THEY SAID.

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Four brave firefighters whose truck was overrun by a bushfire in the state’s south on Tuesday have described their slim escape as “very hairy”.

The harrowing video shared by Fire And Rescue NSW went viral on social media overnight.

It showed the crew from Station 509 Wyoming in a truck driving through a bushfire south of Nowra.

The crew from Station 509 Wyoming recorded this video showing the moment their truck was overrun by the bushfire burning South of Nowra. Picture: NSW Fire and Rescue

Firefighter Jasper Croft said the crew had only gone 300m down a road when they were hit by a violent ember attack.

“For a good hour-and-a-half, us four (men) were the only crew we knew were alive,” firefighter Jasper Croft told Today.

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“The second truck that failed on us, we had no idea for a long time, we had no radio comms (communications). We thought we’d had at least eight fatalities until we got further on.

“We only escaped by a media car that we just jumped in and said, ‘Just get us out of here’.”

With flames engulfing the truck on all sides, the crew was forced to seek shelter inside the vehicle.

Crew member Danny Field can be heard instructing his team to “put your blanket up” to protect themselves from the radiant heat as flames violently shake the truck.

“It was pretty hairy at that stage, very hairy,” Mr Field said.

“Jasper, put the blanket up”. Picture: NSW Fire and Rescue

Driver Grant Fitzgerald said the men were fortunate to have escaped the terrifying situation.

“We made the decision to pull the pin, turn around. And we were just fortunate to get out of there. My biggest concern was my crew at that time,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“It happened very quickly, and we were just fortunate to get out … it’s amazing that we made it.”

The crew will today go and assess the condition of the trucks they left behind in the blaze.

And despite the video being shared more than 1.8m times on Twitter, the group denied they were heroes and said they were only doing their jobs.

The Currowan Fire was yesterday burning at emergency level but has now been downgraded.

Originally published as ‘Just get us out of here’: Firefighters describe slim escape