Sydney - A volunteer firefighter acclaimed a hero after spending a week battling Australia's worst-ever forest fires died in his bed when his own house caught fire Thursday.

   Fire crews called to Russell Pitt's Melbourne home were shocked to find their colleague dead inside.

   "It's just not fair that he's been out doing all that, and here he is at home in bed," fire brigade spokesman Peter Smith said. "We're not quite sure what happened. Yeah, it's just not fair."