Precious memories were reduced to cinders on Friday, but an 82-year-old woman made a lucky escape before her home succumbed to the flames.
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Beverley Wells, who had lived in the Finchs Road house in Bunkers Hill for 18 years, was inspecting the cypress trees which were aflame next to her home around 3pm yesterday.
Described as 'stubborn' by her family and neighbours, Beverley had no intention of leaving. The home was her last tie to her late husband who died less than two years ago. But by chance, a tanker from Sebastopol CFA drove down her road while the fire crept closer, demanding she get in the vehicle.
This was the moment that saved her life.
Beverley's three bedroom home has now been reduced to twisted metal and shards of bathroom tiles. She remains in hospital, following a mild heart attack on Friday night, caused by the stress.
Her daughters, Heather and Lyn, spent Saturday afternoon going through the rubble of their elderly mother's home, hoping to find jewelry or some of the family's precious heirlooms - more than six generations old.
"It's terrible, actually, very sad," said Heather Armstrong.
"She's 82, has a bit of dementia, she was determined she was going to stay ... she does know, and she's just upset she's lost all her childhood photos and everything of Dad and her. The last 60 years..."
We've been trying to get her to leave and sell, but this was her last link to Dad. And now it's gone.
- Heather Armstrong. Her mother Beverley lost her home in the Bunkers Hill fire.
The fire crossed 134 hectares of land, and at least four properties have been lost between Friday's fires at Haddon and Mt Mercer.
Three people were taken to hospital as a result of the Haddon fire due to smoke inhalation, including Bev, while three firefighters required assistance from paramedics.
Investigations continue into the cause of the blaze.
Bev's family - her sons, daughters and grandchildren - dug around in the still-warm rubble as soft rain started. Fire engines with lights flashing trailed up and down the roads. A haze of smoke still floats in air around Bunkers Hill, and blackened trees on the road-side continue to smolder.
Bill Armstrong, Heather's husband, said his mother-in-law was incredibly strong. The radiant heat blistered the skin on Beverley's arms and face while she checked her garden, already alight.
He opened a heart-shaped jewelry box, standing in what used to be the bathroom. Inside was a broken bracelet, hardened by the radiant heat of the fire.
"It hasn't sunk into her yet, she's still holding it in," Bill said of Beverley, still in hospital in Ballarat.
If that firefighter didn't come here, she would have burnt to death.
- Bill Armstrong. His elderly mother-in-law made a lucky escape on Friday.
Conflicting reports had rolled in on Saturday morning. Family members from Point Cook, Corio and Bendigo first heard the house was fine, then apologetic police members had to call back an hour later to say the home was gone.
"When we first heard, we were relieved, and (Bev) said "Oh, you'll have to mow the lawns again." Then we heard again that it was gone, and she told me now I won't have to mow them," Bill said with a laugh.
Heather said with her mum's dementia, she would spend the next week contacting banks and getting identification information, trying to work out if the house was insured or not.
"There's nothing her to salvage," Heather said, wandering through the rubble. "It's completely gone."
