Shayne Boyle burned but still alive after miracle dash from Lenswood blaze
Shayne Boyle was already badly burned when a Country Fire Service crew saw him emerge from the smoke, running for his life amid last week’s bushfires.
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A father of three young girls was running for his life in the middle of an Adelaide Hills inferno last week when a passing CFS crew miraculously pulled him to safety.
Shayne Boyle, 37, is now on a long road to recovery after half of his body, including his face, was badly burned.
His young family’s Christmas was “solemn”, but they have been blown away by community support after receiving more than $20,000 in donations on an online fundraiser.
Mr Boyle was on father-in-law Kym Green’s apple and cherry orchard in Lenswood when the Cudlee Creek firefront began to encroach on their property last Friday.
After evacuating most staff, both Mr Boyle and Mr Green jumped on their tractors to save a neighbour’s home on the northwestern side of their Coldstore Rd orchard.
“We got up there and it was just hell,” said Mr Green, a former CFS volunteer of 35 years.
His son-in-law was driving ahead of him, but the visibility was so low that he lost sight of him.
“There was so much wind and so much heat and so much fire just exploding everywhere and I lost sight of Shayne so we just went about our business of putting out fires.”
After Mr Green saved his neighbour’s property, he returned to defend his own home on the orchard, but Mr Boyle, who also has firefighting experience, was still out there in the inferno.
“As it turned out, he headed to a bit of higher ground to narrow the fire off from coming down the valley and got on a little bush track,” Mr Green said.
But, there was a tree blocking Mr Boyle’s path and he was unable to get his tractor over it.
He abandoned the tractor – his “pride and joy” – and ran for his life.
At the same time, about 11am, a Basket Range CFS crew of six firefighters were called in to protect a home on Staffords Rd – just east of Mr Green’s orchard.
Behind the wheel of the truck was Andrew Noble, an extended care paramedic.
Conditions were so dangerous, they considered turning back for the safety of the crew.
But, Mr Noble continued north on Staffords Rd, with only 20-50 metres of visibility ahead of him, before Mr Boyle emerged from the smoke.
“I avoided him and pulled up and he yelled in the window, ‘I’m burnt, I’m really burnt I got to get out of here,’” Mr Noble told The Advertiser.
“So we just opened the door and hauled him in. And at this point it was touch and go, the fire was on top of us.”
The crew dragged Mr Boyle, who had burns to 50 per cent of his body, onto their laps in the truck and began to douse him with bottles of water.
“I sort of flicked between intensive care paramedic mode and firefighter driving a truck mode and was able to assess … he didn’t have immediately life threatening airway burns,” Mr Noble said.
They turned around and drove out of the inferno to a roadblock on Lobethal Rd, where they handed Mr Boyle to a police officer, who then took him to an ambulance.
Mr Boyle, who has been described as “very generous” and the embodiment of community spirit, is now recovering in the Royal Adelaide Hospital burns unit.
He has severe burns to his arms, legs and face and has received multiple skin grafts.
“We’re confident that he’s going to come out of it all okay. I suppose that’s the good thing,” Mr Green said.
