South Australian firefighter killed battling blaze remembered as a 'hero'

Family and friends are mourning the loss of a South Australian firefighter, killed while fighting a major bushfire in the state's south-east.

Senior firefighter Louise Hincks died after a burning tree fell on her as she battled the blaze in the Coles locality near Lucindale on Friday.

Another firefighter in his sixties who was alongside her, was seriously injured, but is expected to make a full recovery.

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Premier Steven Marshall hailed Ms Hincks, 44, as a "hero".

The mother-of-two's family say they are overwhelmed by the public's supportive reaction to her death.

"Thank you to the community for the outpouring of love, support and [for] respecting the family privacy during this time," Ms Hincks's brother Tony Brown said.

Ms Hincks' spent 28 years in South Australia's Country Fire Service, starting with the Eden Hills Brigade when she was just a teenager.

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While she most recently worked at the Happy Valley brigade, countless others across the state's emergency services knew Ms Hincks as a mental health professional who helped others in their own times or trauma and tragedy.

"She was known as being very family orientated," Chief Executive of the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission, Julia Waddington-Powell, told 9News.

"She always put others before herself, and as a friend to everyone she worked with across the emergency services sector."

The Coles fire continues to burn in blue gum plantations, scrub, and grassland.

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Since Wednesday it has burnt through more than 4,000 hectares and more than 200 firefighters remain on the ground.

But thanks to firefighters like Ms Hincks no property has been lost.

"We know Louise had an extensive career throughout the CFS supporting others though loss and tragedy and we're hear today to return that favour as a legacy to Louise," Mr Brown said.