St Marys firefighter Phil Holdsworth nominated for Pride of Australia award for work to save families during Blue Mountains bushfires

WHEN St Marys firefighter Phil Holdsworth got a call to say his sister-in-law couldn’t be contacted after being evacuated from the Blue Mountains fires, he rushed to help.

WHEN St Marys firefighter Phil Holdsworth got a call to say his sister-in-law couldn’t be contacted after being evacuated from Yellow Rock during the Blue Mountains bushfires last October, he knew he had to help.

He and Mt Druitt station officer Tony Gutteridge were at nearby Blaxland and they rushed to find her.

What they found was a community of 54 men, women and children and their pets — including a horse — trapped by the fire, with only one road in and one road out of the smoke- ravaged area.

Some 12 homes were lost that day, but all lives were saved due to the quick thinking of the firefighters, who included Andrew Sarson and John Bugelli from St Marys Fire Station.

Driving straight through the fireline, the team risked their lives to save the trapped residents and have been nominated for The Daily Telegraph’s Outstanding Bravery Medal.

“That phone call from Phil’s wife led us up there, I said let’s go up and have a look to make sure everyone was safe,” Mr Gutteridge said. “There was one road in and one road out, and the residents had evacuated from their homes to a nearby lookout because a fire had been through their a few weeks back.

“They were worried about the smoke and embers so we went out there and found about 54 people sheltering there with their dogs and a horse, and there were kids and babies too.

“We actually had to pass through small fire fronts and fallen trees to get out there, and came back up the road to a house on Yellow Rock owned by a man named Bob. His house was pretty well set up with a clear area around the house so I thought we could protect it.”

Bob’s house was set up as a shelter and around 30 cars were escorted from the lookout to the house in a mini convoy. “We just got them up in time,” he said.

We put them all in the house with the pets and ­relied on the pool to put out spot fires as the main fire front passed through.

“I knew they were safe in the house because I knew we could protect it fairly well.”

Mr Gutteridge, who has been a firefighter for 29 years, said it was one of his toughest days,