Homes destroyed, firies injured in NSW fire emergency

Seven firefighters have been injured and at least two properties lost, including one in a blast that almost trapped another fireman.

A firefighter is believed to have suffered a heart attack while battling a blaze at Londonderry in Sydney's west, while another has been rushed to hospital with suspected burns after tackling an inferno at Winmalee.

For emergency updates visit the RFS website or call the Bushfire Info Line on 1800 679 737. You can download the Bushfire Survival Plan HERE.

The NSW Rural Fire service fears more properties could be lost, with bushfires already claiming two houses.

One house has been lost at Hawkesbury Road at Winmalee, in the Blue Mountains, and two firefighters battling the blaze there suffered minor burns.

A second house has been confirmed lost in Marsden Park in the Blacktown area, in Sydney's west.

Briefing parliament on Tuesday, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said 59 bush and grassfires were burning across NSW with more than 500 firefighters and 200 appliances on the ground.

That figure has since been upgraded to 63 fires, 31 of which are burning out-of-control.

RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said having so many fires in such a concentrated area around Sydney's greater west has been a challenge.

A number of emergency warnings are in place across the state. The worst blazes are at Tickner Road in Castlereagh, where a 60-hectare grass fire is threatening homes, and a three-hectare fire at Bennett and Richmond Roads in Windsor.

Homes and nearby schools have been evacuated.

There are also fires at Marsden Park, Wollombi, and Leets Vale.

A slow-moving bushfire at Lane Cove has been extinguished.

An emergency alert telephone warning has been sent to phones in fire-affected areas.

Deputy RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said it was a bad fire danger day.

"Combination of dry fuel, warm temps and strong winds making fires very hard to control," Rogers tweeted early Tuesday afternoon.

The Fire Service issued a Watch and Act alert just before midday, as crews were called in.

It is was 'Very High Fire Danger' day for seven districts across the state, including Greater Sydney, Greater Hunter North, the Far North Coast, the Illawarra/Shoalhaven Central Ranges and North West.

For emergency updates visit the RFS website or call the NSW RFS Bush Fire Information Line on 1800 679 737. You can download the Bushfire Survival Plan HERE.

University evacuated

About 2500 people were evacuated from a University of Western Sydney (UWS) campus as a fast-moving grass fire threatened homes in the area.

The evacuation of the UWS Hawkesbury campus was prompted by a fire-related power outage, a spokesman for the university said.

An employee of the University of Western Sydney, Robyn, said the campus was cleared early in the afternoon.

"We're surrounded by fires," she told Fairfax Radio.

She estimated about 2500 people had been evacuated.

Smaller fires broke out at Christina Road in Wollombi and Winmalee in the Blue Mountains, the RFS said.

UWS later said in a statement that the power outage had affected the entire Richmond region, with bushfires preventing repairs.

"The University of Western Sydney's Hawkesbury campus in Richmond has been closed this afternoon due to a power outage in the region," it said.

An alert has also been issued for Leets Vale in The Hills region in Sydney's northwest where a bushfire is burning out of control on River Road.

In Castlereagh around 300 students from St Paul's Grammar School have been evacuated to Penrith's white water park after an emergency warning was issued for a fire threatening properties on nearby Devlin St.

The school's principal Paul Kidson says he and a small number of fire-trained staff remain at the school.

"Human lives were always more important than property," he told ABC radio.

Police helped with the evacuation.

However, the RFS is advising parents not to try to pick their children from the centre as fires are still burning in the area.

In Windsor the fire burning at Bennett Rd, has crossed Richmond Rd and entered Windsor Downs Nature Reserve, the RFS says.

Orica chemical plant evacuated

Meanwhile, another fire near Newcastle is causing concern.

The Orica chemical plant has been evacuated as a blaze burns about two kilometres away.

“We classify that fire as low risk but there is a risk because they do store explosives at the Orica plant,” RFS spokeswoman Laura Ryan told Fairfax.

Asthma warning

New South Wales Police have also issued a warning to asthma suffers today due to temperatures, winds and the high pollen count.

Sufferers are being urged to keep their blue puffer close by. It comes as paramedics treat 44 people for asthma difficulties.

If your symptoms worsen or your condition deteriorates contact your doctor or call Triple Zero (000) immediately.

Disastrous bushfire season predicted

Three years of above-average rainfall, followed by a mild winter have produced lush growth that is now dry, ahead of a blazing summer.

After one of the warmest, driest winters ever the bush is full of 'fuel' primed to burn, and the Rural Fire Service is busy getting in first.

The coming season is looking dangerous. A new national outlook predicts fire activity is likely to be 'above normal' across much of the state, including Sydney. Suburbs bordering bushland on the city's outskirts will be most at risk.

"It's not dissimilar to what we saw last year, and last year we saw ultimately in January some of the worst bushfire danger conditions ever experienced in this state," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

"The Rural Fire Service is doing about 100 hazard reduction burns each week before the weather gets too hot and the bushfire season in Sydney starts in earnest next month.

"If you want to help firefighters this season then you really need to do your part, and it really is about having a bushfire survival plan," Shane Fitzsimmons said.

Residents are urged to prepare now by tidying the garden, cutting back overhead branches, and clearing gutters.