Rural Fire Service Says Firefighter Hasn't Been Sacked For Slagging Off Prime Minister

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has dismissed claims that a firefighter was sacked for slagging off the Prime Minister.

Paul Parker, from Nelligen on the New South Wales south coast, went viral when he was captured saying: "You from the media?"

"Tell the Prime Minister to go and get f***ed from Nelligen. We really enjoy doing this s***."

He told The Project that he was told he'd been let go from the RFS, however the organisation says that isn't true.

The New South Wales RFS has released a statement to LADbible, which said: "The NSW RFS is aware of reports concerning the status of volunteer member Paul Parker from the Nelligen area.

"We can confirm Paul remains a member of the NSW RFS and has not been dismissed."

It's an interestingly development considering how specific Paul had been in his interview with the Channel 10 programme.

Mr Parker lost his house when a massive bushfire ripped through the NSW South Coast, destroying properties in Batemans Bay, Mogo and Nelligen. When he made his now iconic outburst to a camera crew, he was exhausted from battling wild infernos.

But he claims when the footage aired on national television, he got a frosty reception at the fire station.

He told the hosts: "The message I got was about time you brought the truck back because we were about to send the police to go look for you. And then there were further comments with gestures and arm movements saying that I'm finished. It's all over.

"Another captain from another brigade within Batemans Bay came out and I asked him the question, I said: 'What's going on?' He said: 'You're finished because of your allegations and foul language against the PM of the country while representing the RFS'.

No doubt many will be asking Mr Parker whether he has any solid evidence supporting his claim that he's been let go.

In the meantime, he's been enjoying a few rounds at his local pub on the house.

Joel Alvey, the licensee of the Steampacket Hotel in Nelligen, revealed last week that Paul's fans keep topping up his bar tab.

Joel told the Sydney Morning Herald: "Pretty much every day someone comes in and puts their money down, telling us to buy a few beers for that bloke who got stuck into the Prime Minister.

"We've had people ringing up from all around Australia, wanting to transfer money so Paul doesn't need to pay for his own beers.

"A lady from Brisbane raised $150 through a GoFundMe campaign. A bloke from Adelaide rang just today and is sending $20. I suppose about $500 has turned up, and it keeps coming."

Paul's neighbours set up a GoFundMe earlier this year to help him rebuild his home.

Featured Image Credit: Channel 7

Topics: News, Bushfires, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie