Surfboard king Joel Fitzgerald makes callout after house burns down
A surfboard craftsman took on a ‘major inferno’ with a garden hose in a desperate bid to save the ‘dream home’ where he had made boards for celebrities like Stephanie Gilmore and Josh Kerr.
Community News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Community News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A craftsman desperately used a garden hose to battle a ‘major inferno’ at the home where he made surfboards for celebrities including Stephanie Gilmore and Josh Kerr.
Joel Fitzgerald, 49, tried valiantly to fight a blaze that ignited in the shed where he crafted his surfboards but it quickly spread to his neighbouring home at Kinvara on Monday.
He made a last-minute dash to save a photo of his young son and other precious belongings before he lost it all.
“I was lucky in a way not to be killed by the blacken of fumes, fire and exploding drums of resin acetone and surfboard material,” he said on his Instagram account.
“I saved what I could in the minutes I had without getting in harm’s way.”
Joel is the son of Hot Buttered founder Terry Fitzgerald who was well known in the 70s for his brand of surfboard design.
But he himself has created a solid reputation for his own surfboards which he designs and makes.
Comic Twin and Sea Gypsy are among his most well-known designs.
A Space Hawk he made for eight-time women’s world champion Steph Gilmore is now being auctioned off on eBay to raise money for him in the wake of the fire.
Fellow pro surfer Kerr has also ridden the same Space Hawk.
Mr Fitzgerald said his ‘dream’ home on a hill had a garden and view “that reached the horizon from the hills of Byron”.
He said he was thankful his son Kainoa, 4, was not home on that fateful day.
“The North Coast dream was very much real and I was grateful in every way to have this little blue house with a shaping bay and shed, timber floors and beautiful doors, green walls,” he said.
“It’s hard to say goodbye, the emotions and feelings it brings are a little too hard.
“I would say it was time to move on, regeneration will take on, like a seed that needs the right temperature to germinate, waiting for the ground to break or fire to come.
“Don’t think I would have ever left my house on the hill, but now it’s gone.”
Mr Fitzgerald said the main fire was in the shaping bay, the cause possibly an electrical box or light that had blown during a surge in power.
When the fire broke out earlier this week, emergency services raced to the property on Dufficys Lane, just west of Lennox Head, after reports a shed and house had caught alight.
Fire and Rescue and Rural Fire Service trucks from Newrybar, Alstonville, Alphadale, Lennox Head and Clunes arrived to find a shed housing a fibreglass factory and the house well alight.
“In just a few minutes the fire turned into a major inferno, then the fire started to inflame the house,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“My garden hose was doing its best but little could be done until the fire department arrived,” he said on the Instagram post.
“I went back in to save a burning board, a photo of my son and as many things as I could grab in a final run through the burning house but at some point I had to walk away as the fumes and smoke engulfed my beloved house.”
His older brother Kye Fitzgerald, 50, said the shaping bay “was the inspiration for some of the most amazing surfboards I’ve ever surfed” with.
He has already raised $11,000 through a GoFundMe page he set up to help his brother get back on his feet after the fire.
“Through the years Joel has shown amazing courage in all sorts of tragic and difficult situations,” he said.
“Joel‘s little blue house, and shaping bay attached, has been the place of great times for friends and family and, was, the inspirational birth place of so many of Joel’s surfboards that we love.
“Everyone was thinking is this the end? It’s not. There’s a factory in Sydney where the boards are still being made.
“It was a setback but with all the support, he has the spring back in his step.”
Mr Fitzgerald said the house would be demolished and the land was a part of the Ballina plan for new buildings, schools and roads.
Mr Fitzgerald said it was the end of an era and he now faced a new chapter.
“From the ashes the Phoenix will fly,” he said.
“I would like to thank those who have supported me and Kainoa and we are doing great, one day, one breath at a time.”
Find Joel Fitzgerald’s GoFundMe Page here.
‘Disappointed’: Historic CSG signage to go despite protests
Heartfelt community pleas from residents and councillors who fought to keep their region gas field free fell on deaf ears during a loud and tense extraordinary meeting of Lismore council.
Read more
‘Major win’: New council boss and new bridges
Christmas has come early for residents in Kyogle with the announcement this week of a new general manager and the opening of two new bridges in the LGA.
Read more