South Turramurra tickled pink about rescue from above

In the end, it all came down to a wing, a prayer … and a pink drenching for a Sydney suburb.

Fire retardant covering vehicles in Turramurra, in Sydney. Picture: John Grainger

In the end, it all came down to a wing, a prayer … and a beautiful pink drenching for the Sydney suburb of South Turramurra.

Homes and cars were left ­covered in fire retardant — a tiny price to pay for the northern suburb being saved from devastation.

Just as quickly as the raging bushfire bore down on South Turramurra, so came the air tanker that delivered the pink rain that bathed the suburb and averted ­catastrophe.

Police are investigating whether the fire was deliberately lit.

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Residents had been told that the ­opportunity to flee had passed; it was now time to bunker down and hope for the best.

“It is too late to leave,” the NSW Rural Fire Service had warned.

“Seek shelter as the fire ­approaches. Protect yourself from the heat of the fire.”

While a “catastrophic” fire warning issued on Monday had ­allowed many to evacuate ahead of the blaze, those who remained behind were forced to shutter their windows and doors as the inferno drew steadily closer. It was a little after 4pm when the first major fire to threaten Greater Sydney broke out in bush neighbouring the affluent neighbourhood, just 20km from the CBD.

The Rural Fire Service said the fire, fanned by high winds, spread quickly and soon loomed over dozens of properties along Kissing Point Road near Canoon Road.

Aerial footage showed just how close the area came to disaster as flames licked homes before a large air tanker was dispatched, drenching the suburb with fire retardant as crews worked on the ground to save the houses.

Despite the high-level warning, residents told news crews they were caught off guard by the intensity of the blaze.

“A fire started and it seems like only 20 to 30m in but it only took five or 10 minutes until the whole lot went up with flames probably about 50m in the air through the tree tops,” resident Douglass Greening told Nine News. “Very close indeed. Strong wind, very dry conditions but fireys as usual were here very, very fast.”

Within an hour, the bushfire has been downgraded as hardworking firefighters managed to gain the upper hand. One property was reportedly damaged on Lyon Avenue while a firefighter suffered a ­fractured arm and ribs. One woman, whose house was spared, thanked fire crews, saying she feared the worst when flames began burning near her property. “I just want to say thank you to everyone. Thank you for all your support and all you have done for us today. I was really scared when I was leaving the house but I’m feeling safe again,” Diksha Anand said.

Detectives established a crime scene in bushland in South Turramurra to determine the cause of the blaze. It was understood police were also investigating a triple-0 call from a nearby street.

RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons allayed concerns about the fire retardant dumped on homes: “We’ve got homes, we’ve got property that are now coloured pink or red. And there are guidelines available; we’ll publish those guidelines on our website, about hosing down the retardant. The colour is a dye added to the product so when we drop it we can see where it has gone. It’s a phosphate-based product and can be washed off quite quickly.”