Heavy rain and storm activity on Thursday meant crews were kept busy with vehicle accidents a lightning strike on a house.
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The technical rescue vehicle from Lambton and firefighters from Tarro and Mayfield West were called to free two people who were trapped in vehicles after an accident on the New England Highway at Tarro. The crews worked rapidly to free the occupants in heavy rain. Senior firefighter Luke Russell from Lambton said that the advanced rescue equipment carried on the technical rescue truck allowed operators to work with multiple hydraulic tools on both sides of the vehicle simultaneously. This led to a faster extrication allowing paramedics to quickly treat and transport the two critically injured patients to hospital.
Also on Thursday firefighters from Wallsend and Lambton were called to a house fire in Wallsend. Lightning had struck the roof of the house, igniting insulation material in the roof space. Crews removed tiles and accessed the ceiling before containing the burning insulation and extinguishing the fire. This fast action prevented further damage to the house.
On Wednesday, firefighters from eight stations in the Hunter responded to a bushfire in Weston. On arrival, crews found a fire front of about 120 metres moving towards an industrial area. Fire trucks were placed to defend the buildings from the oncoming flames while crews also worked to extinguish the blaze from the sides. Rural Fire Service aerial firefighting assets were deployed to help extinguish the fire.