NSW Bushfires: Tony Reiman lost a friend and his home, but new caravan gives him a fresh outlook on life

Tony Reiman fought the New Year’s Eve fire with his late mate Laurie Andrew, who died in the blaze. Now he’s got a new outlook after being donated a caravan.

Tony Reiman has a renewed outlook after he was given a caravan to live in.

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Almost three months after he faced a fire which swamped the property of his late friend, a former Yatte Yattah man has been injected with renewed hope.

Tony Reiman lost his caravan, 4WD and boat when the New Year’s Eve blaze tore through farmland, bushland and suburbs north of Milton.

Mr Reiman was living on the property of his friend Laurie Andrew, who died from a heart attack while defending his Yatte Yattah property.

The seasonal labourer said the fire hit them from three sides.

“The wind was swirling around,” he said.

“The bloke across the road had a power transformer and it just blew. I could see that from where I was sitting.

“I thought ‘oh gee here it comes’.

“Then Laurie came through and said ‘come on, get up, it’s on’.”

Laurence ‘Laurie” Andrew was remembered during the Bushfire State Memorial at Qudos Bank Arena on February 23.

Mr Reiman recalls the heavy smoke, a gas bottle leaking and seeing the flames in front of him and trees falling.

“I still shake thinking about it,” he said.

Mr Reiman spent a night at the Ulladulla Civic Centre - the evacuation point for displaced residents and tourists.

After a night he was able to stay at his sister’s home in Ulladulla. His sister and her partner offered him a ute, which has helped get back on his feet.

And the neighbours, who owned the house where the power transformer blew up, took him to the Conjola Recovery Centre.

The town of Yatte Yattah was heavily affected by the bushfires. Picture: Sam Mooy

The volunteer community group immediately clothed him and gave him some essentials, however, he still didn’t have a home to live in.

Now, he has a fresh outlook after a traumatic few months as Rotary’s Caravan of Hope delivered him his new home on March 14.

“It’s perfect. It’s better than the one I had,” he said.

Mr Reiman is familiar with life in a caravan. He enjoys the ability to move, particularly for seasonal work whether it’s in the building industry or agricultural industry.

He tried to sleep in the back of the ute and also bought a gazebo, but the wind made the gazebo ineffective.

Tony Reiman (left) was displaced after the New Year's Eve bushfire destroyed his caravan. Now he has new home courtesy of Rotary.

“I had (the gazebo) for two or three weeks, but it was just blowing around.”

Mr Reiman said he now wanted to look for agricultural work in the Bega Valley and said Narooma was also appealing.

“With the caravan now, I can get up and go,” he said.

“I’ve got a bit of a new outlook now.”

He was also still mourning the loss of Mr Andrew who had supported him when he faced tough times over the past two decades.

“He was a month retired. That’s what gets me,” he said.