One firefighter killed, another injured while tackling major blaze

A volunteer firefighter has been killed and another was seriously injured as they helped tackle a major blaze in South Australia‘s southeast on Friday.

South Australia’s Country Fire Service (CFS) said the incident was the result of a falling tree and that the seriously injured CFS member had been taken to hospital for further treatment.

“Family and other personnel have been informed and are being offered support,” the CFS said in a statement.

“The safety and wellbeing of our people is our highest priority and our thoughts are with our CFS family at this time.

About 150 firefighters have been fighting the blaze near Lucindale for the past two days, some 350km south east of Adelaide.

Five Country Fire Authority (CFA) strike teams from Victoria are also assisting the effort.

CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan extended his organisation’s deepest condolences sympathies to the family and friends of those involved.

“Firefighting is an inherently dangerous activity and I am grateful and proud of the commitment and sacrifices that Australian firefighters make every day,” he said.

“CFA stands with our CFS colleagues on the fireground, and in grief.”

Earlier in the day, SA Premier Steven Marshall thanked those on the front lines, describing the Lucindale fire as “significant”.

“My grateful thanks to every single firefighter that puts their life on the line to protect our lives and our property,” he said.

The fire is still burning out of control but does not pose an immediate risk to lives or homes, a CFS spokesperson said.

“Firefighters will continue working in that area well into the night,” they said.

So far, the fire the fire has burnt 3877 hectares of land, affecting bluegum plantations as well as scrub farmlands.