NSW fires: volunteer Jesse Kirkman gave his all in Wytaliba, lost everything

When flames took Wytaliba, Jesse Kirkman was too busy helping others to worry about his home.

Wytaliba fireman Jesse Kirkman 34 and his daughter Isabella 13, with their burnt out house. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Volunteer firefighter Jesse Kirkman gave his all to save Wytaliba — his home, all that he owned, everything except the soot-stained protective clothing he stood in, surveying a charred landscape.

When the flames engulfed the northern NSW township on Friday, killing two of its elders and razing nearly all in its path, Mr Kirkman was too busy trying to save the lives and property of others to worry about his own home.

READ MORE: Firestorms threaten to widen path of disaster | Sydney in ‘catastrophic’ area | Five hours fighting a wall of flame | Insurers to prioritise fire claims | Tears as PM warns of darker days ahead

It was only after he had completed his 12-hour shift, running from one emergency to another as the town burned, that he discovered his family’s stone-and-timber homestead had gone up, and with it a lifetime of work and dreams. Mr Kirkman’s thoughts, however, were with the two people who couldn’t be reached — 69-year-old Vivian Chaplain, who died in hospital from burns, and aged pensioner George Nole, killed in his car after trying to ­defend his home. “I just wish we could have got there sooner,” Mr Kirkman said. “It just moved so fast, you can only do so much.”

A map showing the fires raging in NSW and Queensland.

That more people weren’t killed is a tribute to the firefighters who stood their ground during those terrifying hours, battling 10m walls of flames and winds that threatened to “rip your head off”, in the words of another survivor.

The firestorm moved so fast it was on people within 15 minutes. “By the time we got into the first property, it had surrounded us,” Mr Kirkman said. “With the wind, the embers just rained all over the area.”

Gary Blairs was among homeowners who paid tribute to the local fire crew that performed miracles at the height of the chaos. “I was thinking, ‘how the hell am I going to work three hoses’,” he said of the moment he almost gave up hope. “Then I saw the blue and red lights coming through the firestorm. It was a godsend seeing those boys come up there.”

Dozens of homes were destroyed, the local primary school wrecked and the surrounding eucalyptus forest blackened by the blaze. The only bridge into the township collapsed after wooden support beams caught fire.

Many residents who were unable to flee sought refuge on the local cricket oval, huddling together as the town burned before their eyes, leaving two-thirds of the population homeless.

Founded in the 1970s as an ­alternative-lifestyle commune, Wytaliba was well versed in dealing with bushfire: newcomers to the tight-knit community of 100 go through a three-year induction and receive intensive fire training.

But the conditions on Friday were the most challenging anyone had faced.

Polyester water tanks melted in the ferocious heat of the bushfire, limiting the drought-depleted supply available to fight the raging conflagration. To make matters worse, ideological objections to insurance meant many properties were not covered. Tony Keating, who has lived in Wytaliba for 35 years, lost part of his blacksmith’s workshop but was able to save his home, which was fitted with an irrigation system along the eaves. But nothing could have prepared him for the firestorm. “The scale of this is just mind-boggling,” Mr Keating said. “Nobody got out of this unscathed.”

He used sprinklers, troughs and hoses, gravity-fed from tanks perched above his property to fight the fire. “If I didn’t have that, we wouldn’t be here,” he said.

Ironically, a number of Wyta­liba’s volunteer firefighters had been deployed over the past month to contain the Kangawalla fire, about 35km to the west. It was believed to be under control but a plume of smoke that rose into the sky on Friday afternoon was the first sign it had roared back to life.

Within an hour, the blaze had dramatically intensified and was bearing down on the community. Less severe fires in March and August had reduced much of the surrounding vegetation, but the vast strip between the reignited blaze and Wytaliba was untouched, providing fuel for the inferno. Driven by the wind, the fire burned through previously scorched areas. Deputy firefighter Levon Taminiau described the fire as a “blowtorch”. He managed to save his home by using a self-made 300-litre water tank and pump installed on the back of his ute.

“If you use it sparingly, you can get what you need out of it,” he said. The 43-year-old, who has spent his life at Wytaliba, said the community was self-sufficient when it came to fighting fires.

“Even if we had a lot of support, there was probably not much they could have done,” Mr Taminiau said. “It was like a live animal with a mind of its own.”

Another firefighter, Lukas Smola, and his mother, Louisa, lost everything in the fire, including their new house which had only been lived in for one month.

When she saw the fire “gallop” down a nearby slope towards her, Lynn Hetherington decided to leave and seek shelter with about 10 other residents in a communal kitchen. She raced back to her home when she noticed a gap in the fire.

Fearing for her life, but desperate to save her property, Ms Hetherington ran around her house aiming a hose at any sparks that landed nearby.

Karen Hare said the community was heartbroken by the death of Ms Chaplain and Mr Nole, whose body was found by firefighters on Saturday morning.

Community members said Mr Nole, aged in his 80s, was born in Greece and had worked in South Africa as an engineer.

Having done all he could, Mr Kirkman spoke for many when he vowed to rebuild. The donated T-shirt worn by his daughter Isabella, 13, summed up the locals’ never-say-die attitude. “Everything is going to be OK,” he said.