Muslim group donates $10,000 to NSW firefighters as bushfires continue to rage

Australians of different faiths are pitching in to help those affected by the bushfires.

The UMA makes the donation on Wednesday.

The UMA makes the donation on Wednesday. Source: Supplied

A Muslim group has donated $10,000 to the NSW Rural Fire Service as bushfires continue to burn around Australia.

On Wednesday, representatives from United Muslims of Australia (UMA) made the donation to firefighters at Wauchope on the state's Mid North Coast.

UMA public relations officer Ibrahim Dadoun said his group put out the call to its members during Friday prayers last week.
"When we saw these bushfires had affected so many people and their livelihoods, we thought it was our obligation to go out and support them," Mr Dadoun told SBS News.

He said the trip from Sydney to the fire-hit communities around Taree was a sobering one.

"We saw some streets signs that were completely melted. There was no more writing on them ... It was a horrifying scene to witness."
It was a horrifying scene to witness Ibrahim Dadoun
A fundraising campaign by Vic Alhadeff from the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has so far raised more than $24,000 "to support those impacted by the catastrophic bushfires".
Mr Dadoun said "it's great to see" different communities coming together at times of natural disaster.

"This shows you that we have a very successful multicultural country … It makes me proud to be Australian," he said.
Damage from a fire near Taree.
Damage from a fire near Taree. Source: AAP
Weather conditions aided firefighting efforts across NSW on Wednesday but authorities say hot winds will blow in from South Australia in the coming days.

Three more homes have been destroyed in southeast Queensland, as fire crews brace for hot and windy weather.

Six lives and 577 homes have been lost to date this fire season, with more than 420 homes lost in the past fortnight.

Police, meanwhile, told reporters on Wednesday that legal action had been taken against 54 people since August for bushfire-related offences.


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By Nick Baker


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