A firefighter has died while responding to a house engulfed in flames in Sydney's northwest.
Michael Kidd was among the first crews to arrive at the house at Grose Vale, west of Richmond, just before 8am on Tuesday.
It is understood the 51-year-old was inside the house when he was struck by a falling wooden beam.
Colleagues from FRNSW and the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) dragged Mr Kidd from the house and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Another firefighter who responded to the fire was taken to hospital suffering chest pains, according to an RFS spokeswoman. He was in a stable condition.
A volunteer with the Rural Fire Service since 1989, Mr Kidd worked on-call for Fire and Rescue NSW responding to fires in regional areas.
He had been an on-call member of the Richmond Fire Station since 2010, and was was awarded a National Emergency Medal and a Premier’s Bushfire Citation for his efforts protecting his local community during the 2019-20 Black Summer fires.
Mr Kidd is survived by his wife and two adult children.
FRNSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell described Mr Kidd as a “kind and selfless” man who dedicated his life to keeping others safe.
“Firefighter Kidd has made an amazing contribution to the Hawkesbury community over many years and the impacts of his death will be widely felt for a long time to come," he said.
“Tragedies like this are always difficult to comprehend, but it’s particularly cruel that Firefighter Kidd’s death has occurred less than two weeks from Christmas.”
There were 29 RFS firefighters at the blaze and eight trucks from the volunteer organisation.
FRNSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said there was no reliable information to suggest anyone was at the home at the time of the blaze. Firefighters searched the property as part of standard procedure.
The six-bedroom house, flanked by a pool and tennis court, sustained significant damage.
FRNSW said it was working with other authorities to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
