Burned Australian Firefighter Fighting for Her Life

Oct. 15, 2012
The firefighter suffered severe burns after her apparatus was overrun.

An Australian firefighter, who was one of two members of a crew burned when their fire truck was overrun by a wildfire Friday, is fighting for her life.

The 45-year-old firefighter suffered severe burns to 60 percent of her body after her apparatus became engulfed in flames, according to ABC News Australia.

She remains in critical condition in the burn unit of Royal Perth Hospital while a 24-year-old firefighter, who suffered burns to 40 percent of her body, has been upgraded to stable condition and moved out of the ICU.

Three other firefighters also were injured and were treated at Albany Hospital.

The wildland firefighting crew was battling the blaze near the Two Peoples Bay nature reserve in Western Australia.

Officials say a shift in winds but the in the path of the flames.

Albany's Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Pickford told the news outlet that even though the firefighters were in full PPE and that their apparatus was heavily protected, the blaze was just too overwhelming.

"They were caught in an extreme and very hot fire area," he said.

Crews are still trying to extinguish the blaze which has burned close to 4,000 acres.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

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