Volunteer firefighter films amazing scene as bushfire tornado sends debris flying

A volunteer firefighter has filmed armageddon-like scenes when a tornado firestorm sent metal debris flying outside a central Queensland home. WATCH THE VIDEO

A FIRESTORM has been filmed right outside a house as bushfires continue to rage throughout Queensland and NSW.

The tornado-like whirlybird of fire and smoke was filmed just outside of Lake Mary in the Livingstone Shire, about 540km from Brisbane, on Monday.

A boat, that appears to be burnt, can be seen in the video as people in a ute slowly back away from the smoke with wind whipping debris through the sky.

Kirsty Boswood, 33, of Barmoya, said her husband Dan was among some of the volunteer rural fire brigade firefighters from Barmoya and Lake Mary who helped control the fire.

“The fire was on a private property in Lake Mary,” she said.

“The house was only twenty metres behind the whirly wind.”

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Mrs Boswood, who gave permission for the Courier Mail to publish the video, said a volunteer firefighter was in a grader, that can be seen in the video, working on cutting a fire break, when it was hit by flying debris.

“Then some tin hits the grader, and it just shows how dangerous the conditions are,” she said.
Billy Geddes wrote on Facebook that he was the firefighter inside the grader at the time.

“We turn up today and start putting extra break in and then notice the back burn wasn’t done,” he wrote.

“We saved the house but last minute and due to the 30ft high whirlybird of fire in their back yard there were sheets of iron flying, one took out the top of the grader I was on and it was lucky no one on the ground got hit (sic).”
A helicopter can also be seen flying above the smoke and debris being blown around.

A still image from a video of a fire storm near Lake Mary on Monday. Picture: Supplied

Mrs Boswood wrote on her Facebook page that the fire conditions shown in the video were “just insane” and a “small snippet of what conditions are like fighting this fire.”
“(Dan) like many others in our community who are fighting this are volunteers, honestly what they do and all the QFES is nothing short of amazingly courageous, all to save someone else’s property and lives,” she said.

The devastating fire near Yeppoon. Picture: Allen Gadsby/Facebook

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has updated a bushfire warning level to ‘watch and act’ for residents of the Cobraball, Bungundarra, Maryvale and Lake Mary bushfire as of 9.45am today and have urged residents to be prepared to evacuate.

“A slow-moving but dangerous fire is continuing to travel from Cobraball towards Bungundarra, Maryvale and Lake Mary,” the update states.

“The fire is still impacting Mount Lizard, east of Evans Road, south of Mapes Road, south of Ingrey Road, east of Serpentine Road and north of Cobraball Road.

“Fire crews are continuing to conduct back burning operations and working to contain the fire. Firefighting aircraft have been operating in the area throughout the morning supporting ground crews.

The QFES also states residents should not expect to see a firefighter at their door.

“You need to be ready to follow your bushfire survival plan,” the warning states.

“If you do not have a plan, or intend to leave, you should be ready to leave the area because the situation could get worse quickly.”