AN Albury rural firefighter was fortunate to escape major injury after his four-wheel drive was flipped by the same cyclonic wind burst that took the life of his colleague near Jingellic.
The deputy group captain was about eight kilometres west of the Upper Murray village on the River Road when his D-Max ute was flung up to four metres.
The vehicle landed on the side of the dirt track and the fireman escaped through the driver's side window.
He fled through a nearby property towards the Murray River and turned around to see his brand new Rural Fire Service car aflame.
The officer suffered concussion and a muscle tear to his left calf.
Also in the same vicinity on Monday evening, two firefighters from the Back Creek brigade suffered serious facial burns.
The pair, caught in the tumultuous conditions, were flown to Concord hospital in Sydney for treatment.
Albury-based RFS superintendent Patrick Westwood said the truck turned upside down by the tornado had been on flat terrain.
"There was a very minor slope that didn't affect the ground at all, from where the truck was," Mr Westwood said.
"There was no drainage, there was no culverts, no channels, no check banks.
"There was nothing that would have indicated that that truck should have rolled and it didn't roll it actually flipped and the driver describes it as inverting.
"We're looking at winds that were just completely unpredictable on the day."
Meanwhile, Member for Albury Justin Clancy has offered he and his wife Tabitha's sincere condolences to the family of Mr McPaul.
"Our hearts go out to (his wife) Meg, Samuel's mother and the McPaul family at this time," Mr Clancy said.
"My thoughts are also with the injured firies and to their families at this time.
"I speak with gratitude for all those on the fire ground, the RFS, the CFA, all of our emergency services and other departments for the work that they are doing on behalf of our community."
Mr Clancy's Liberal Party colleague, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian also extolled Mr McPaul.
"The RFS has lost another member of its family, a young man fighting fires in his local community," she said.
"This brings home to us what NSW is going through - every fire front is a threat to life, a threat to people's life as they know it."
