SPECIALIST investigators are likely to be used to try to determine the cause of a bushfire which resulted in the death of a Port Macquarie man on Sunday.
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National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) senior ranger Bryce Laut was killed on Sunday afternoon when a tree fell on him while he was fighting a bushfire south-west of Kempsey. An arson team is expected to investigate the bushfire which is believed to have been deliberately lit.
Mr Laut’s family, friends and colleagues are reeling from the loss of one of the local NPWS’ most experienced and respected senior firefighters.
According to his family, Mr Laut was “extremely proud” to wear the NPWS uniform.
“We are tremendously proud of the contribution Bryce has made over two decades in trying to make the community safe from bushfire,” they said in a statement.
“We are comforted to some extent knowing that he was killed while doing something he loved and while working in a national park.”
Mr Laut spent the past 10 years working with NPWS and the decade before with the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Port Macquarie-Hastings RFS operations manager, Inspector Guy Duckworth, said the 52-year-old “died doing what he was passionate about”.
“He was incredibly passionate about his work,” he said.
“He was just an all-round good bloke. He will be sadly missed by the Port Macquarie-Hastings RFS. A lot of the local brigades considered him to be an unofficial member.”
Mr Laut was one of four NPWS officers working to extinguish a bushfire in Kumbatine National Park on Sunday afternoon.
Police said the NPWS officers were conducting a back-burning operation about 6pm when a burnt-out tree fell on Mr Laut.
Full story in today's Port News
