Brave young dads died heroes battling horror blaze
Shock and despair has ripped through a tight-knit western Sydney fire brigade, as firefighters and members of the public came out to mourn the loss of their ‘brothers’ — two RFS volunteers killed when a burning gum that fireys call a ‘widow maker,’ fell into the path of their tanker last night.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- ‘More homes will be lost’ on catastrophic Saturday
- ‘All gone’: Vintage car, bike collection up in smoke
In the minutes before their deaths Geoff Keaton and Andrew O’Dwyer faced terrifying conditions.
The relentless Green Wattle Creek roared to the right of them as the Rural Fire Service volunteers drove south on Wilson Drive towards the worst of the conditions at Buxton on Thursday night.
Mr Keaton was at the wheel, Mr O’Dwyer next to him in the front seat. Smoke was so thick they could barely see 50 metres ahead of their fire truck.
Tall gum trees, which lined the sides of the roads, had cracked and fallen in the heat. Power poles had been burnt and live lines lay on the road.
The truck was travelling in convoy with other RFS vehicles and it was sheer, cruel luck that sealed their fate.
A giant gum — the type firefighters sadly call widow makers — cracked at exactly the wrong time and fell on top of their cab, crushing its roof with a huge bang, forcing the vehicle to veer off the road and roll over in a culvert drain.
The two fireys in the front seat were killed almost instantly. Three others travelling in the back seat were treated at the scene for injuries.
Yesterday, RFS colleagues of the young fathers were in mourning and shock — realising it might have been any one of them who failed to come from the fire front that day.
Mr Keaton, 32, and Mr O’Dwyer, 36, were remembered as devoted dads who loved nothing better than swapping photographs and tales of their toddlers Harvey and Charlotte, who were born within two days of each other in May last year.
Fellow firefighters broke down in tears yesterday as they laid flowers and paid tribute to the close friends from Horsley Park 1 Alpha.
Flags were flown half mast across the state in a mark of official respect for the “absolute heroes” who had been fighting fires together for more than a decade as part of the tight-knit western Sydney volunteer brigade.
Mr Keaton — whose father Wes Keaton was also fighting fires on Thursday in Sydney’s northwest — joined the RFS in 2006 and was the Horsley Park brigade’s deputy captain. Mr O’Dwyer joined in 2002.
RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons praised firefighters who went straight to the aid of their colleagues and stayed until the vehicle had been taken away by police.
He spent the night comforting the bereaved families.
“To not be coming home after their shift is a tremendous grief and I applaud the families and the loved ones for their remarkable comprehension of what’s been unfolding,” Mr Fitzsimmons said. “Both of these men were very well respected, they were very close, they’re a close-knit brigade, they’re a very community-focused brigade, work together, socialise together, they’re very interactive together.
“These men and women, our volunteers, are remarkable individuals.
“They’re ordinary, everyday individuals like you and I that go out and simply want to serve and protect and make a difference in their local community and they don’t ever go out in the knowledge that they might not come home.”
Neighbour Christine Clarke, 63, said Mr Keaton’s wife Jess and their son Harvey would be shattered. “It’s very sad — they’re a young couple starting out, one child,” she said.
“He was really friendly … my husband had a heart attack and he said ‘If you want anything I’ll help out’.
“He was a young father, (Harvey) is not quite two.”
Ms Clarke said their toddlers had brought Mr Keaton, who worked as a truckie, and Mr O'Dwyer, a manager at Woolworths’ Fairfield Heights store, even closer together.
“It was his mate in the cab that passed away as well, their kids were born roughly the same time,” she said.
Mr O’Dwyer was raising his little daughter Charlotte with his wife Melissa in Middleton Grange. Woolworths NSW/ACT general manager Michael Mackenzie said the supermarket company was “deeply saddened” by Mr O’Dwyer’s death.
“Andrew was a much loved member of the Woolworths team, whose generosity of spirit and commitment to volunteering touched the lives of many in the community,” Mr McKenzie said. “He will be sorely missed.”
Following their deaths Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid tribute to the fallen firefighters and announced he was cutting short his much-criticised family holiday and returning to Australia.
“Given these most recent tragic events, I will be returning to Sydney from leave as soon as can be arranged,” Mr Morrison said.
“They (the firefighters) were bravely defending their communities with an unmatched spirit and a dedication that will forever set them apart among our most courageous Australians.
“Their sacrifice and service saving lives and saving properties will be forever remembered. I wish those injured all the best in their recovery.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the deaths of the volunteers was having a ripple effect in their communities and the firefighting fraternity.
“These two brave young men who lost their lives represent, for us, the thousands and thousands of volunteers on the ground today and tomorrow and in the days coming who put their own life, their own safety on the line to protect others,” Ms Berejiklian said.
As helmets bearing the names of both men were laid out on a memorial stone outside the Horsley Park RFS headquarters, brigades from around NSW shared their sadness.
“Look out for one another in this tough time. You are all absolute heroes,” Fire and Rescue NSW’s Cobar station wrote on the Horsley Park Facebook page. Fellow firefighter Daniel Knox said: “To memories of a lifetime.”
Another, Nat Bruce, added: “RIP Brother Firefighter! May your memory live on thru all your brigade members and condolences to his family and friends.”
Another friend, Craig O’Loughlin said: “Two heroes, two family men and two mates. Never forgotten. Vale Andrew and Geoff. Died heroes, and great mates to everyone.”
Thursday’s fatalities bring the NSW death toll from this season’s fires to eight.