Man’s home destroyed in a ‘sea of fireballs’ in Terang bushfire
A SINGLE dad has described the terrifying moment he was forced to flee his Terang home amid a “sea of fireballs” with only minutes to spare, opening up on the tragic personal loss that hit him the hardest.
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A TERANG man has described the terrifying moment he was forced to flee his home amid a “sea of fireballs”.
Terry Carpenter smelt smoke and within minutes realised his house was about to be consumed by flames.
“I heard all the commotion and went outside and saw red skies with flames as tall as the trees coming right for us,” Mr Carpenter said. “We sprinted down the driveway and we were bloody lucky to get out.”
BLACKOUTS HIT THOUSANDS OF VICTORIAN HOMES
MASSIVE FIRE STORM DEVASTATES STATE’S WEST
All that remains of his property is a brick chimney and a TV antenna that stands tall among the ruins.
“At least I can watch my shows,” he joked.
Mr Carpenter had been sitting in his bedroom when he caught a whiff of smoke.
His friends, who were over for dinner, started screaming and the 54-year-old realised his house was about to be hit.
“We sprinted down the driveway and we were bloody lucky to get out,” he said.
It’s believed the fire started when lightning struck a nearby paddock.
Mr Carpenter described the blaze as “a sea of fireballs”.
“Trees, fencing, sheds and all of the house went up instantly,” he said. “You could see balls of fire flying across the paddocks.”
But it was the loss of Mr Carpenter’s longtime pet, a Major Mitchell’s cockatoo named Mary, that hit the tough mechanic hardest.
The burnt-out cage of his old mate served as a sobering reminder of what could have been. “Houses can be rebuilt, cars can be replaced but lives, mate, they can’t be replaced,” he said.
The single father lived alone in the house for five years and he’s now been forced to live with friends as the town battles to rebuild.
Mr Carpenter praised fire crews for their tireless efforts in fighting the blaze.
“There’s only so much you can do when it’s as windy and dry as it is,” he said.
“They did everything they could but local crews simply don’t have the resources to take on fires of that size.”
‘WE RAN FOR OUR LIVES’: RESIDENTS
PEOPLE ran for their lives as fires raged across Victoria’s southwest.
More than 40,000ha burned, sparking widespread evacuations, with many in Cobden, Camperdown and Terang forced to flee their homes.
Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said seven “push messages” warning about the path of the fire were sent to 70,000 people.
He said there had been issues with the alerts as the ability of emergency controllers to receive accurate information on fires was reduced at night.
“We acknowledge it was very challenging to get warnings out in the initial stages of these fires,” Mr Lapsley said.
BLAZE THREAT EASES BUT SOME FIRES STILL OUT OF CONTROL
“The challenge to our control people (on Saturday night) was to know how those fires were progressing ... at what stage were they crossing roads, because our intelligence is different at night.
“We don’t have aircraft and we have reduced ability to capture where these fires are.
“Information is critical but the challenge (is) putting out information that is timely and relevant and has the right content in it.”
A woman, who asked not to be named, ran for her life as fire took hold of her Camperdown property.
“Downed power lines sparked the fire and it went straight through the house,” she told the Herald Sun.
“We didn’t have enough time to pack because we just had to run for our lives.
“We lost everything.”
She said it was a combination of strong winds, dry land and plenty of grass that made the fires so strong.
The distraught mother said the community was helping her get through the shock of losing the family home.
“We’ve been in there for 20 odd years but the people have been so kind,” she said.
“Whether it’s been bringing some food, clothes or even a warm hug, it’s all been really appreciated,” she said.
She will stay with friends until other arrangements can be made.
Dozens of wedding guests also reportedly had to flee a wedding as fire came within 100m of the celebrations at a Gazette property.
Elle Moyle told the ABC she was hosting a friend's wedding at her family’s homestead when 150 terrified guests had to shelter in a brick stable waiting for buses to evacuate them.
The fire front passed over the property, but Ms Moyle said her brother’s home and two sheds were destroyed.
Cobden vet David Buckle said he was forced to evacuate his family when smoke rapidly appeared.
“The smoke came flying through in less than five minutes,” he said. “It was like day turning to night.”
Mr Buckle said Cobden looked like the set of a horror movie as smoke covered the town. He said some farmers did not know the full extent of the damage because many roads were closed.
“I’ve been taking calls all day from farmers wanting to know how their cattle are doing but we won’t know anything until emergency services unblock the roads,” Mr Buckle said.
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