KEY POINTS:
An investigation has been launched into how a group of New Zealand firefighters were injured in Victoria, as three remained in a Melbourne hospital's burns unit.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment said the probe would take in the fire's movements and whether the men were wearing the
proper safety equipment.
John Tupara, Barrie Hunt and Nick McCabe, who were part of a 48-strong Kiwi contingent, were airlifted to Melbourne's Alfred Hospital after they were overcome by flames and smoke while fighting bushfires in south Australia.
The trio, who suffered burns to their hands and faces, were among a group of 11 New Zealand firefighters trapped at Mt Terrible on Saturday afternoon.
The department's chief fire officer, Ewan Waller, said the firefighters should have been wearing protective gloves.
"They should have had them on even though they were working on a spot fire because the main fire was not far away," Mr Waller told the Australian newspaper.
"The investigation is under way."
Department spokesman Duncan Pendrigh countered reports that the men were not adequately protected. "We're investigating that, but we do know at least one them had gloves on and the fire melted the gloves onto the back of his hands," he told the Herald Sun.
One victim, John Tupara, was visited by his younger sister, Tiriwa Tupara, in hospital yesterday.
She told the Herald that her brother was recovering well, in high spirits and hoped to be discharged on Saturday.
She said her heart fell down to her feet when she heard about his ordeal.
"But he's pretty brave ... he would save everybody else before himself."
Mr McCabe said from his hospital bed that he couldn't wait to get back to work.
"I'm not much of one for lying around, I can tell you that," he told Radio Live.
He said that lying in the ditch while the fire raged around and over them was a procedure they had covered in previous training.
"It's like every job, you just handle things - do your training and it comes out fine."
He said the entire ordeal was over very quickly.
"We were working on a piece of line and we got a warning that a bit of a shift was occurring and with that another fire front started rumbling and so we just set in course a set of plans to adjust to changing conditions you know."
Afterwards everybody was talking among themselves and taking the experience as a "really big learning step", he said.
Fortunately a helicopter was close to hand to help the men escape.
"Oh, heck, I'm up walking around and having a bit of a laugh," he said.
I've just had a bit of tea. The doctor's going to have another look at my hand tomorrow and make another assessment."
He had shared a room with Mr Tupara and they were both looking forward to enjoying a beer together.
He didn't even mind that it was Australian beer - "so long as it's cold".
Another of those who suffered less severe injuries, Glen Stitchburn, was back on the frontline yesterday morning.
He told One News that the firefighters had been overcome while watching the fire on Saturday.
"Next thing this fireball came up from below us. I don't think everyone saw. It happened so quick we just made a run for it."
Dunedin firefighter Graeme Still told One News they all had proper gear. "We can't go in the fire line without it and it's all checked by the crew leaders. So there's no chance of that, I guarantee you."
National Rural Fire Authority duty officer Ian Millman told the Herald yesterday that all three men were on the mend and chatting. He did not know when they men would be released.
"We want them home for Christmas Day. That's our target, but whether we achieve that or not I don't know."
He was unsure whether the men were wearing gloves or not.
"They had all their standard kit ... at this stage I'm not too concerned about that, I'm more concerned about getting them on the road to recovery."
National rural fire officer Murray Dudfield said: "I know they had protective clothing and were wearing it but to what degree that is I don't know.
"The true picture will come out of the investigation that is being undertaken now."
He said 43 of the 48 firefighters were back on deployment tasks.
* Meanwhile, firefighters were last night battling at least six fires in southern Western Australia which were started by lightning strikes.
Campers were evacuated from the Fitzgerald River National Park as fires threatened to jump containment lines.
Tasmanian firefighters were battling a 25,000ha fire threatening to jump control lines and sweep through a rugged national park to the coastal town of Bicheno.
In Victoria, fire crews continued to backburn and shore up containment lines in Gippsland and the state's north-east overnight, before temperatures climb later this week.
The fires have burned more than 680,000ha of bush, with the blaze at Mount Terrible, near Kevington, blackening 310,000ha.
- Staff reporters and Agencies
