Funeral of firefighter killed in Australian fires

The funeral service took place Tuesday for a volunteer firefighter who died battling blazes in Australia.

Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, was in a truck convoy fighting blazes southwest of Sydney on 19th December when a tree fell and caused the vehicle to roll off the road.

O'Dwyer and another volunteer firefighter, Geoff Keaton, both fathers to 19-month-old children, died at the scene.

Rural Fire Service volunteers and representatives from other emergency service agencies paid their respects as O'Dwyer's casket was carried in a hearse.

The fires, fueled by drought and the country's hottest and driest year on record, have been raging since September, months earlier than what is typical for Australia's annual wildfire season.

So far, the blazes have killed 25 people, destroyed 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the American state of Maryland.