Teacher that saved kids from bushfires

JOAN Murray says many who lived through last October’s savage Blue Mountains bushfires are just grateful to be alive. For some parents, though, there is gratitude to Ms Murray for helping save their children’s lives.

Sienna Hughes, four, Joan Murray and Callum Gibbons, 3, at Rainbow Pre-school, in Winmalee, today. Pride of Australia nominee Joan Murray who has run the Rainbow Pre-school, in Winmalee, for 19 years and last October was trapped in the preschool with 12 of the children with the fire just 3 metres from the back door.

JOAN Murray says many who lived through last October’s savage Blue Mountains bushfires are just grateful to be alive.

For some parents, though, there is gratitude to Ms Murray for helping save their children’s lives. As fires swept through Winmalee on October 17, children, staff and some parents took shelter at Ms Murray’s Rainbow Preschool.

She has deservedly been nominated for The Daily Telegraph’s Pride of Australia Outstanding Bravery Medal by Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa, who labelled her ­actions as“astounding’’.

“We had 12 children and three staff, and parents who had left it too late to e

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vacuate, as well as my two-year-old grandson who was at my house sleeping, next door to the pre-school,” Ms Murray told The Daily Telegraph.

“We kept the curtains closed so the children didn’t know there was a fire,’’

Ms Murray said the father of one of the children was off- duty firefighter Dale Wade-Ferrell, who came to keep an eye on the preschool.

“The children weren’t traumatised or scared because they know Dale and knew he would keep us safe,” she said.

Ms Murray said she had the children huddle together, with the adults covering them to ensure one might survive.

Pride of Australia nominee Joan Murray who has run the Rainbow Pre-school in Winmalee for 19 years.

“There was nothing else we could do — we couldn’t run, we couldn’t leave, we had nowhere to go — and I could see the glow in the backyard getting closer.”

Soon an RFS firefighter checked on the pre-school and a fire truck was flagged down to evacuate the centre.

“You could see fire on each side of the road, so to distract the children I had them sing ‘If you’re happy and you know it’,’’ Ms Murray said.

The fire stopped 3m from the pre-school’s back door, but destroyed a shed full of play equipment, a computer and an airconditioning unit.

With the community’s help, however, the centre was up and running again six days later

We will have a celebration at the preschool in October to celebrate that we are all still alive,” Ms Murray said.