Firefighters injured, NSW RFS downgrades emergency warning over Camden Valley Way blaze

Firefighters have gained the upper hand on a blaze which had earlier threatened homes in southwest Sydney as unseasonal weather wreaked havoc on trains and cut power.

Two firefighters have been injured battling a large grass fire in southwest Sydney, where emergency services have contained a blaze that had earlier threatened homes on a day parts of the state recorded their hottest August temperatures in 12 years.

The NSW Rural Fire Service issued an emergency warning to residents in the vicinity of the fire, which was burning on Camden Valley Way at Horningsea Park and heading towards Edmonson Park, telling people nearby it was “too late to leave”.

The warning was downgraded to “advice” level later on Wednesday as firefighters began the process of “mopping up” the blaze, which was described as burning “fiercely” more than a month before the expected start of the bushfire danger period.

It comes as the SES responded to more than 161 calls for help as strong winds lash Sydney and its surrounds, bringing down trees and damaging homes.

All 25 bush and grass fires burning across NSW are now at advice level.

A firefighter tackles the blaze in Sydney’s southwest. Picture: TNV

More than 20 trucks, 80 firefighters and two waterbombing helicopters attacked the blaze, which the RFS described as having threatened homes and properties in the area of Talarna Hill Dr to Jardine Dr in Edmonson Park.

Speaking to media late on Wednesday afternoon, Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Gregory Wright was still warning affected residents to stay where they were.

“We’ve just downgraded the fire to advice level, and we are telling people to stay in their homes,” he said.

“Don’t come out and look at the firefighters. Yes, it’s exciting, but for their safety, they should stay in their homes and watch from their windows.

Both FRNSW and RFS NSW are fighting the fire. Picture: TNV

“Firefighters have the fire contained, and we are now working on mopping up.”

Supt Wright said “a number of injuries” had been reported.

Those hurt included two firefighters, “one with smoke inhalation and one with some soot or embers in their eye”.

“Two people, civilians, were reported to have chest pains or anxiety, and they have stayed at home and been assessed by NSW Ambulance at the highest point of the fire,” he said.

Supt Wright said the fire had been escalated to an emergency alert after it spread to a property that contained a number of amusement park rides, sparking a “plastic fire” inside.

Shane Rendell, a friend of the property owner and fellow amusement ride owner, turned up to help when he saw the fire on the news.

“Apparently (the fire has) just come through the yard and destroyed some of their caravans, sheds and a couple of inflatables went up,” Mr Rendell said.

He said jumping castles and a number of children’s rides were also destroyed in the blaze.

A firefighter tackles the large grass fire. Picture: TNV

A strong smell of chemicals and burn plastic mixed with smoke lingered near the property late on Wednesday, as the cloud of smoke in the area dissipated.

However, earlier in the afternoon, the state of the blaze was vastly different, with many of those who had been waiting by the perimeter coughing and saying their eyes stung.

A group of girls, who were on their way to their aunt’s house, were stuck for more than an hour after being rerouted due to road closures from the fire.

“It’s affecting my lungs,” one said, stating the situation had exhausted her.

“We couldn’t get through. Our family was waiting for us at home…I felt worried,” another said.

The blaze also impacted on trains, which Transport for NSW said were “not running” between Glenfield and Leppington, with Camden Valley Way and Bringelly Rd closed between Corfield Rd at Prestons and Cowpasture Rd at Leppington.

“Motorists are still advised to avoid the area and use an alternative route,” it said in a statement.

Replacement buses were being organised, with passengers advised to delay their trip or make alternative arrangements.

Nearby William Carey Christian School confirmed while it was aware of the blaze, its students had not been forced to evacuate with “no immediate threat to our students or school grounds”.

Rural Fire Service crews, with the assistance of Fire and Rescue NSW, were also responding to a grass fire at Richardson Rd in Spring Farm about 4.15pm, with a spokeswoman saying a power line falling in strong winds was believed to be to blame.

“Property is threatened [and] ... it is still ongoing,” the RFS spokeswoman said.

Those blazes followed RFS crews responding to another grass fire, which burned next to the Princes Hwy in the Shoalhaven earlier on Wednesday morning.

Emergency services at the Camden Valley Way fire. Picture: TNV

A BOM meteorologist told The Daily Telegraph that Camden had recorded its hottest August temperature since 2012, which was attributed to westerly winds “dragging” the heat from Central Australia.

Sydney Airport, meanwhile, recorded its fifth highest ever temperature in August.

The meteorologist added that observations had been made of winds which were “abnormally strong” for this time of the year.

The strongest winds were recorded in Port Kembla at 113km/h and Molineux Point at 109km/h.

They wreaked havoc in parts of western Sydney, with more than 16,000 homes affected by significant power outages after upwards of 400 trees fell on power lines.

The emergency warning issued earlier on Wednesday, before it was later downgraded to “advice”.

Endeavour Energy spokesman Peter Payne said the situation was ongoing and further outages could be expected as strong winds continue to move north.

“We started experiencing outages in the early hours as far south as Batemans Bay,” Mr Payne said.

“As the weather progressed north, the Illawarra and Wollongong regions became affected and now parts of western Sydney are being affected.”

The worst affected suburbs were Edmondson Park, Camden South, Richmond and Agnes Banks.

Strong winds were credited with causing the destruction with gusts of up to 135km/h reported in certain areas.

An Ausgrid spokesman said its network was experiencing 2500 outages due to the weather but was operating largely as normal.

While winds aren’t expected to reach the same heights of Wednesday, the meteorologist said there was “still another chance” August records could be broken with Friday expected to reach 30 degrees.