Jeff Cutting played an integral part in the history of bushfires in the ACT , not as a firefighter but as a photographer.

Mr Cutting died in the Canberra Hospital on Tuesday aged 80. He had suffered a cardiac arrest and did not recover.

After earning the trust of firefighters, Mr Cutting was allowed onto the fireground of countless blazes over the decades in the ACT to photograph the fires and the efforts to put them out.

Veteran firefighter Vivien Thomson , a former ranger with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service and captain of the ACT Parks Brigade, said Mr Cutting provided a valuable service, documenting bushfires.

"I've been around fires for almost 40 years now and there's very few people you actually allow on your fireground, because you've got to keep a tight ship. You've

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