Chloe Pfabe narrowly escapes Norlane house fire, faces devastating loss
A Norlane woman has described the harrowing moment she narrowly escaped a devastating house fire.
Geelong
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A Norlane woman has described the harrowing moment she narrowly escaped a devastating house fire that destroyed all her possessions.
Chloe Pfabe was preparing for a shift as a bartender ahead of the AFL grand final on Saturday when she became aware something wasn’t right.
“I heard a really loud bang outside my house, and I wasn’t sure what it was, so I went to have a look, and then my back door was on fire … I started freaking out,” she said.
“I went to get my cat and was trying to find them, but I couldn’t. Then, while I was searching, the roof started falling down.
“The neighbours came and grabbed me outside the house, but I kept trying to go back in because my cat was still in there.”
Ms Pfabe said that while trying to break a window to save her cat, Mittens, the whole house went up in flames.
“Everything I have is gone now,” she said.
“I just felt sick because I had lost everything. I was very devastated and in shock.”
Ms Pfabe had been renting the home in Swallow Crescent with her brother, Jay.
She is now living in emergency accommodation while looking for another rental.
But she is most concerned for the welfare of Mittens, who is at the vet in an oxygen box and in a stable condition.
Kobi Mueller, Ms Pfabe’s sister, has launched a GoFundMe called to help her siblings, which has so far raised more than $1200.
Ms Pfabe described the response as “amazing.”
“It warms my heart to see how many people are willing to help,” she said.
“I never expected that from anybody.”
A Fire Rescue Victoria spokeswoman said crews arrived at 2.20pm on Saturday to a house fully involved with fire.
“Firefighters donned breathing apparatus and conducted an internal and external attack on the fire,” she said.
The fire was not deemed suspicious.
satria.dyer-darmawan@news.com.au
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