Richard Mainey is being remembered by his family after he died while protecting the family farm from the Willi Willi Fire, west of Kempsey on Monday.
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The family, in a public social media post, said the 56-year-old died while protecting the property at Temagog on Monday night, October 16.
"Richard was a caring brother and uncle. He was always there if you needed a hand, he was a quiet achiever, initiative and a mister fix-it man," the family said in the post.
Richard owned and ran Port Plastic & Tooling in Port Macquarie. The business worked in collaboration with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council to create recycled plastic bollards that were installed near the Fisherman's Wharf in 2021.
Richard said at the time that the project was something he was passionate about as he wanted to put single-use plastic to better use.
He had worked in the recycling industry for almost 40 years, forging a solid business base in Port Macquarie since the early 1990s.
Mid North Coast Police Superintendent Shane Cribb described Richard's death as an absolute tragic incident.
Police were called to Stony Creek Lane, Temagog, after concerns were raised for his welfare about 10.15pm on Monday.
Officers travelled into the high-risk fire danger area with the support of the Rural Fire Service (RFS).
"After walking around for some time, police located a 56-year-old male deceased approximately 100 metres from a bulldozer that was also burnt," Supt. Cribb said.
"The family are devastated as you'd imagine," Supt. Cribb said.
"We'll make sure we pack as much welfare around the family as we can and make sure the other agencies are involved in providing whatever support we can bring to the community."
Fires continue to burn
The largest fire in the Kempsey Shire is the Willi Willi Fire.
It has now burnt through 22,000 hectares and is still out of control.
The fire has now been downgraded to an Advice level as weather conditions ease.
A fire burning in the vicinity of Hat Head is also at Advice level, but is listed as out of control.
Bellbrook Public School and Willawarrin Public School remain closed today, October 18, due to the fire risk.
We will continue to update our free running bushfire information story here.
