Childers fire remembered

SURVIVORS of the Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire will gather next month to pay tribute to the 15 young men and women who lost their lives 10 years ago.

SURVIVORS of the Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire will gather next month to pay tribute to the 15 young men and women who lost their lives 10 years ago.

A decade after the tragic event, survivor Rob Jansen said the fire was never too far from his thoughts.

“I used to think about it every day but now it is only probably weekly,” Mr Jansen said.

“It has healed overtime but it is part of my life.”

The Dutch traveller spent about two weeks in the Childers hostel before the inferno.

He even shared a room with Robert Paul Long, who was later charged with arson and two counts of murder for lighting the fires.

“I changed rooms the day before the fire,” Mr Jansen said.

“The soccer championships were on so I moved to another dorm to watch that. That move probably saved my life. I was very lucky.”

Mr Jansen was 22 when he came to Australia for a year-long backpacking trip.

He arrived on May 1 and had been in Childers for about a fortnight before the blaze.

“I only stayed for a week after the fire and left,” he said.

“I thought of going home but I decided to stay and keep travelling.”

Mr Jansen is one of the organisers of a reunion to be held on June 23 this year.

“We have about 15 survivors who are coming,” he said.

“It’s not just for them though. We want people in the community who were affected by the fires to come as well.”

Mr Jansen said the 10th anniversary was an important milestone.

“I think it will be quite emotional,” he said.

“A lot of things happened. We need to pay special attention to the date and remember what happened.”

Mr Jansen is inviting members of the community who were connected to the fire to go along.

This includes survivors, victims families, emergency service personel, and community members who supported the survivors.

“We weren’t the only ones who went through it,” he said.

“We could leave but the people of Childers were confronted with the site of that building for so long.”

Bundaberg Regional Council will also hold a commemorative service at the Palace Memorial Building on June 23 from 4pm.

Originally published as Childers fire remembered