Corio man forced to flee Black Saturday fires issues fire safety warning

A Corio man who was forced to flee the Black Saturday bushfires has revealed the items he chose to save when he thought he might lose his home.

Kali Hovey and Shannon Meakins. Picture: Alison Wynd

A Corio man who was forced to flee the Black Saturday bushfires is urging people to be prepared ahead of the upcoming fire season.

Shannon Meakins was living in Kilmore at the time and described the moments leading up to the evacuation.

“It was a ridiculously hot day, my whole family had gone away, and I was at home by myself and we got called to evacuate,” Mr Meakins said.

“Looking over houses you could see massive plumes of smoke.”

Mr Meakins was fortunate enough that his home did not sustain damage, but he witnessed the first hand destruction that ravaged the Victorian communities.

During the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, 173 people died from February 7 to March 14

across Victoria.

“The Black Saturday fire actually started in Kilmore East, and there was also another fire behind us near Lancefield,” he said.

“At first it was coming towards us, and then when the wind changed, the one behind us was coming.

“For years and years as I continued to drive through there, all the trees were black.

“Fires are pretty non-discriminatory, you can’t really do much about it.”

When the call came to evacuate, Mr Meakins grabbed the cat, two dogs, hard drive, safe contents, photo albums, and an Indiana Jones box set.

A recent survey by Super Easy Storage found personal documents, wallets and photos led the list of must-save items in an emergency.

“My thing with fire is have a plan and stick to it, don’t wait ‘til the last second,” Mr Meakins said.

“Don’t muck around, just leave. It’s not worth it.

“You end up hearing about people who try to save their property but end up losing their life.”

The fire danger period for 2024 is set to begin on Monday.

County Fire Authority deputy chief officer south west region Adrian Gutsche said with an increased fire risk expected in the southwest of the state, now was the time for residents to take action and be prepared.

“While we’ve had some recent rain, we are concerned this has caused additional growth in surrounding vegetation, and will soon dry out, adding to the underlying fire risk,” Mr Gutsche said.

“We’re asking people to keep an eye out on the VicEmergency App and CFA website, to be aware of the fire danger ratings and to know what their plan is should a fire event arise.

“If you can take the time this week to finalise preparing your properties, we strongly suggest you do so, whether that is reducing vegetation around your property or clearing your gutters,” he said.

The warnings to be prepared come after fires tore through more than 2000 hectares in Chapple Vale and Kadnook on Sunday.

Originally published as Corio man forced to flee Black Saturday fires issues fire safety warning