Fire and Rescue NSW Station 488 Shellharbour

31/05/2026

Today's front page.
Read every story in the Illawarra Mercury's digital edition just as it was printed in the newspaper ➡️ https://bit.ly/3KKYAYf

31/05/2026

What do our Shellharbour Firefighters do on their days off? Well here's a story of a surfing competition some of us attended recently, raising money for charity. Enjoy....

🚒 🌊 Join me and my firefighter mates as we hit the road for an epic...

25/05/2026

In his 36 years of service, veteran firefighter Darin Sullivan had only seen a nursing home fire once.

During the afternoon of May 22, he came face to face with his second - and the potential loss of dozens of lives.
Receiving an automatic fire alarm from Blue Haven Bonaira in Kiama is "pretty normal" for the Shellharbour Fire Station commander.

But as he and his crew - alongside the Kiama brigade - raced toward the scene, staff at the facility called triple zero.
That single call triggered a massive escalation. A standard two-truck response instantly doubled to four trucks, bolstered by a Hazmat unit, a duty commander, and a ladder truck.

Police and paramedics also rushed to the scene.

Upon arrival, firefighters saw a ground floor independent living unit engulfed, flames devouring a mattress and much of the bedroom.

The resident had fled just moments before the blaze took hold, leaving the entire ground floor heavily smoke-logged.
"It was clear to me that this could have potentially been quite disastrous," Mr Sullivan said.

"We had real potential to have numerous elderly persons trapped. It could have potentially been a mass casualty incident."
In the face of disaster, panic never took hold for Mr Sullivan and other responders, who remained "pretty calm" by calling upon their training and muscle memory

Nursing staff had also leaped into action, navigating the emergency to safely evacuate 52 residents.

In the end, every person was accounted for and without any injuries reported.

“It's a bit of a unicorn. A fire in a nursing home like that is pretty rare ... they don't happen very often," Mr Sullivan said.
He attributed the flawless outcome to the seamless teamwork between his crews and the facility's staff, along with the automatic system in place.

"Shoutout to the Kiama Fire and Rescue crew who did a great job, along with my crew and all Fire Rescue FFs who attended," Mr Sullivan said.

**Station commander Darin Sullivan at Fire and Rescue NSW Shellharbour Fire Station.**

'It could have potentially been a mass casualty incident.'

23/05/2026

Around 4pm yesterday Kiama Firefighters, along with Shellharbour Fire Station and Gerringong RFS, responded to reports of a fire at the Blue Haven Bonaira site.

Kiama and Shellharbour Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the fire which was located within a residential unit.

Blue Haven Bonaira staff did a great job with evacuations and looking after the residents while the incident was unfolding. Thankfully only 2 people were assessed for minor smoke inhalation.

19/05/2026

Huge congratulations to two of our absolute legends - Captain Nick Grindle on an incredible 40 years of service, and Firefighter Michael Dyer on 30 years.

That’s a combined 70 years of turning out, stepping up, and somehow… still putting up with each other!

Thank you both for your decades of dedication, leadership, and service to our brigade and community. We’re lucky to have you - old, gold, and still showing the rest of us how it’s done 🚒

24/04/2026

A 'spate' of fires overnight as smoke from a large hazard reduction shrouded the Illawarra.

24/04/2026

07/01/2026