Respite from fire's fury

The horror and devastating loss caused by the Victoria bushfires earlier this year still burns vividly in the minds of the Kinglake residents who watched their homes, lives and community turn to ashes within minutes. One couple, here on a trip organised by a local Rotary group, told their story to EMMA GOODWIN.

There was no warning, no alarm and no inkling that within two hours of Jenny Redmond going to her part-time job at a local restaurant, leaving husband Tony putting the finishing touches to the new roof, that her home and life would be reduced to rubble in the path of the most vicious and intense fire the state of Victoria had ever seen.

"One minute I was taking lunch orders; the next I was racing home to save my house."

It was a normal day in Kinglake on February 7, 2009. The Redmonds had moved into the township 10 months earlier and had almost completed some renovations on their home.

"We'd put on a new roof and had a new kitchen."

The day started normally.

There was a fire in the distance, but there was no perceived danger of it coming towards the township.

"There was an eerie light in the sky from a fire that we thought was a very long way away, so Jenny went to work," says Mr Redmond.

Mrs Redmond was busy taking orders at the restaurant, when at 5pm, people ran in saying that their houses had burned down."

"We had lost power at that stage and were cooking on the gas stove and didn't think much of it, but then it was every man for himself."

By the time Mrs Redmond got home, her husband had the generator going, pumping water over the house to dampen it down.

"He told me to go and change and get into something that wasn't synthetic."

There was an enormous roar that drowned the noise of the generator and an imposing blackness descended.

"You could see this red glow above the trees and within another seven or eight minutes, the neighbours' houses were on fire," says Mr Redmond.

At this stage, they had tea towels around their faces and water-soaked woollen blankets over their shoulders to protect them from the smoke and heat and were holding garden lights to locate each other in the blackness. As the eucalypts burned around them, chunks of trees were falling and embers were flying horizontally.

"We had fire on three sides of us and it was at this point that we decided to get out. If we hadn't left then, we would have lost the cars and had no means to escape," says Mr Redmond.

The couple jumped into one of the cars and headed out of town on one of four roads. At the time they didn't realise the road they chose was the only one open to through traffic, as all the rest had been blocked by the fire.

"I had a strong gut feeling that was the way to go," says Mr Redmond. "It burned up after us and the rest of the township was trapped up there."

The devastation they left behind became all the more apparent to them when they joined up with other survivors.

"People had watched neighbours running towards cars to escape and not making it. They were dropping dead from the radiant heat. Others died through crashing on the roads because they couldn't see where they were going."

It was all over by 6pm.

Four days later, when they were allowed back to their home after it had been checked for bodies, the destruction they found was horrendous.

"There was nothing left. My motorbike had melted into the driveway, the generator had pooled onto the ground," says Mr Redmond.

But there was a jewel found among the wreckage. A couple of jewels, in fact. Mrs Redmond found her engagement and eternity rings.

"I knew vaguely where they were, as there were no walls left in the house. We got on the ground on our hands and knees and sifted through the rubble and ashes and found them," she says.

The rings were like a good luck talisman to others.

"People wanted to touch them."

Ten months on, the couple are living in a temporary village of 60 one and two-bedroomed prefabricated units, and have been there for three months.

"The whole community is stressed out, and is very tired and frustrated."

Many marriages and families have broken up because of the pressure and stress and Mrs Redmond has suffered from bouts of depression.

"We're are pretty strong now, though, although sometimes it can all get a bit too much."

It's clear to see that there is a lot of strength through looks shared between the two, but the pain of the past months is evident when talking about what they have lost.

"Stuff in houses doesn't matter, but people do, and every one knows of someone who has died.

"When we were eventually allowed back to our properties, there was so much joy in seeing neighbours. You'd jump out of the car and say, `You're alive, you made it!' Seeing people who were alive was a great thing."

But out of the ashes has risen amazing community spirit. "The community has a common bond. Unless you were there, you can't understand. The community was always strong, but now it's stronger than before."

They say the New Zealand landscape is a marked contrast to what they are used to. "It's great to see green."

And they are full of appreciation to the people who have made this trip away possible.

"These people [Cliff and Jenny Bennet] have let us in to their home and have been so accommodating. It's been wonderful and we are really looking forward to the rest of the trip," says Mrs Redmond.

The couple are not considering moving away from Kinglake. They say it's their home and they are in the process of rebuilding.

When they get back, the slab will be poured on the new house in the same position of the old one.

"If you start running, you'll continue to run. You pick up the pieces and keep going.

"There's not a lot left to burn in Kinglake, so it's probably pretty safe now," says Mr Redmond.

- © Fairfax NZ News