NSW Rural Fire Service
Exclusive
Pollution
‘White hot’: Cancer-linked chemicals flowing into dam at 50 times safe level
Independent tests near Medlow Dam in the Blue Mountains show contamination at far higher levels than the government has admitted.
- by Ben Cubby and Carrie Fellner
Latest
Blue Mountains dam shut after discovery of cancer-linked forever chemicals
Forever chemicals had been found at high levels in the dam which feeds into the drinking water supply to around 41,000 residents. Now authorities have stepped in.
- by Carrie Fellner
Man in critical condition after drowning at remote Ku-ring-gai beach
Rescuers had to use a boat to retrieve the man from the beach, which can only be accessed by a steep bushland track.
- by Carrie Fellner
Groundhog Day: A stubborn bout of rain is coming to Sydney
Monday will cap off a glorious run of sunny weather before a week of rain sets in, with the potential for heavy downpours by the weekend.
- by Angus Dalton
One in 10 emergency workers experience the same mental health condition
New world-first guidelines seek to tackle the human cost to first responders and the high rates of PTSD.
- by Sarah Berry
Strategic backburns that run wild should be referred to coroner, inquiry finds
A backburn escaped containment lines within hours of ignition during the Black Summer bushfires but the NSW Rural Fire Service never investigated the cause.
- by Harriet Alexander
Exclusive
Industrial relations
‘Millions’ in unpaid overtime: Rural Fire Service workers take claim to court
Five employees of the RFS will head to the Supreme Court in a case that will have an impact for hundreds of their colleagues.
- by Max Maddison
‘We could not hold it’: Can you fight fire with fire?
In the age of global warming, how are firefighting agencies learning from past catastrophes to combat bushfires?
- by Harriet Alexander
‘Not something we just accept’: Firefighter killed in Hawkesbury house blaze farewelled
The death of Michael Kidd at a home north-west of Sydney will not become a “cliche”, the Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner vowed in an emotional funeral on Friday.
- by Jessica McSweeney
‘The best of a bad choice’: Megablaze was artificially enlarged by the Rural Fire Service
As the Gospers Mountain Fire bore down on the Blue Mountains in 2019, the RFS devised an ambitious strategy to keep it from populated areas. But new data shows it was far from perfect.
- by Harriet Alexander
Sydney covered in smoke. It’s from a bushfire more than 400km away
Air quality in Sydney’s east, north-west and south-west was labelled “poor” on Tuesday afternoon, with residents told to reduce outdoor physical activity.
- by Jessica McSweeney and Sarah Keoghan
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/nsw-rural-fire-service-1mno