Russell Island rallies for dog trainer after pets perish in devastating fire

Russell Island is rallying around a local dog trainer, who suffered burns and lost her home and pets in a devastating fire, a year after a family of six perished in a similar tragedy on the island.

Russell Island dog trainer Leesa Pick and one of her surviving dogs survey the devastation at the Mulbray Cres property. Pictures: Contributed

An island community is rallying around a dog trainer seriously burned trying to rescue her pets in a fire which razed her home, less than 2km from where a family of six perished in a blaze a year ago.

Russell Island resident Leesa Pick, 49, received first and second degree burns trying to get her dog Ducki and cat out of the fire which ripped through her shed and annex next to her caravan this week.

Shocked residents called the fire department which had officers in the area because of dangerous bushfire conditions. Picture: Contributed

A year after the tragic loss of a family of six in an horrendous inferno, the latest blaze has left another islander grappling with profound loss and hardship.

Unlike last year’s horrific fatal blaze, Ms Pick had fire alarms installed and firefighters were close by in the nearby street governing a planned vegetation burn-off.

Her makeshift home, a large shed converted into a living space on her block of land, was engulfed in flames, reducing it to smouldering ruins.

The fire, believed to have started from an electrical fault, has claimed not only her home but also her beloved pets and nearly all her possessions.

Dog trainer Leesa Pick says she has lost everything in the blaze. Picture: Contributed

“I’ve lost everything including my dog and cat and just when I was starting to get on top of things,” she said.

“I was outside, raking leaves and preparing for potential fires when I heard a pop, and by the time I turned around, the shed was already a massive ball of flames.

“The fire was so intense, it spread quickly and I had smoke alarms, but they were of no use against such a fast-moving blaze.

“I run a business called Hectic Canine Solutions, which specialises in understanding and addressing canine behaviour issues and even through all this, I want to continue helping other dogs and their owners.

“It’s what keeps me going.”

Island residents have set up a fundraising page to help the dog trainer. Picture: Contributed

Ducky, a three-year-old Cane Corso who trained as an emotional support dog, was found dead amid the wreckage.

“She had followed me in to get the cat but I didn’t realise she was behind me, otherwise, I would have dragged her out.”

The cat, Klaus, only a year old, was also lost in the fire.

Leesa suffered second-degree burns on her arm while trying to rescue her pets.

The latest disaster occurred two days before Redland City Council and the Queensland Fire Department issued warnings to residents on Friday about bushfires on the island.

Island resident Kelly Crane said the latest fire was a poignant reminder of the tragedy that unfolded on the island a year ago when Wayne Godinet and his five children – Zac, 11, Harry, 10, four-year-old twins Kyza and Koah, and Nicky, three – died after their island home was engulfed in flames on August 6, 2023.

NSW woman Donna Rose Beadel was fined $667.25 in March this year for failing to install legally required and compliant smoke alarms in her rental property where the family had lived.

“The community is still reeling from that loss and we are now faced with the stark reality of another devastating fire which has left a woman homeless and bereft after her two animals died,” Ms Crane said.

“Leesa had been struggling to rebuild her life and she had just moved into the shed after her rental house was sold, hoping to eventually rebuild on her block of land.

“Russell Island is known for its close-knit community and residents are now supporting Leesa and have started a fundraising page to help her recover.”