The firefighters worked with a number of agencies to try to free to trapped victims, however both men ended up dying at the scene.

Just a month prior, teams from Queanbeyan Fire and Rescue attended a fatality near Bungendore, where prominent designer Robert Foster was killed on July 13.

More recently, on Monday, September 5, the crews attended another fatality on the Monaro Highway near Williamsdale.

Queanbeyan Fire and Rescue station manager Cory Wilkinson said the firefighters involved in the attempted rescues sat down for an informal debrief on Tuesday, September 7, to ensure everyone was coping after the spate of events.

“There has been a lot of accidents across the state, the numbers are quite high at the moment,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“We’ve just had all the ducks line up here, so to speak.”

In a stroke of luck for the crew, Hercules the therapy alpaca was visiting the same cafe.

“We were sitting there in the coffee shop, having a coffee and talking about things when he just happened to walk past and say hello,” Mr Wilkinson said.

The crew recognised the alpaca as the one who had replaced the famous Honeycomb after he died. Honeycomb was often seen being driven around Canberra, with his head sticking out the back of the car.

In fact, Honeycomb played a therapy role for health services across the ACT, a role which has now been taken over by Hercules.

“When you see him up close he’s super soft and he’s like a big doll,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“You can just put your arm around him and give him a pat.”

Mr Wilkinson said the chance meeting was a nice distraction from the work the firefighters usually do.

“We do a debrief in any major incident or difficult job where it might be heart wrenching,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“We discuss what we did well, what we could have done better or what we could have done to improve the outcome.

“If people need more assistance, we do get in and get the help that is required.”

While Mr Wilkinson said a debrief with pets probably wouldn’t become a regular occurrence, the cuddles and pats with Hercules the alpaca were enough to lift the spirits of the firefighters and provide a welcome emotional release.