Source: Daily Liberal
TRIBUTES have continued to flow for Daniel Howard, the Cobar firefighter who lost his life while battling a blaze that destroyed the New Occidental Hotel.
The 37-year-old was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest and a fellow firefighter received a broken arm when a wall collapsed at the site on Sunday morning.
Mr Howard leaves behind a family including his partner Jenna and her son.
NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins went to Cobar on Sunday to lend support to the late firefighter's family and the tight-knit local fire crew were doing it tough after losing a good mate "who paid the ultimate price".
"That night they went to a local hotel and went over what happened again and again, I was able to reassure them they did a fantastic job," he said.
"Our hearts go out to them and Howie's family".
Commissioner Mullins said every fire chief in Australia had contacted him to express their condolences, along with representatives from other emergency services such as police and ambulance.
"When that pager goes off, it's in the back of every firefighter's mind that what they're about to do is dangerous, they know they could be injured and worse," he said.
"But they are positive people, and occasionally when something like this happens it tears their heart out".
The injured firefighter was treated at Cobar Hospital and is in a stable condition, a spokesperson for the Western Local Health District confirmed.
A structural engineer had visited the site on Monday to ensure the building was safe for fire and police investigators to enter, Commissioner Mullins said.
Traffic diversions established on Sunday remained in place around the Marshall Street site, which had been cordoned off around a 100-metre radius.
Commissioner Mullins said at this early stage there was "nothing obvious" to suggest what sparked the blaze.
"There were reports of an explosion and a sudden collapse, and unfortunately there was no escape for those two firefighters when the wall collapsed," he said. "The site will be excavated, we will try to find if there was a gas cylinder that possibly exploded, we will build a picture of the scene to establish what happened."
An accelerant-detecting dog that had travelled to Coolabah to examine the scene of a hotel fire there just days ago was sent back out west to examine the Cobar site.
Commissioner Mullins said it was possible there was asbestos in the burnt-out building.
"With a building of that age, we always assume there could be asbestos," he said. "We've had anyone downwind wearing masks, and all the firefighters' uniforms are sent away to be decontaminated."
