A homemade mobile water tank, created by Smythesdale residents, has all but saved a home which was directly in the line of a fast moving grass fire on Friday afternoon.
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Steve Chircop and Anthony Fleming were quick to douse their neighbour's home with water after lightning struck an area of grass alongside Bandys Road, just south of the Smythesdale township as a brief, but vicious storm passed through the region.
SEE THE GALLERY BELOW | Smythesdale grassfire, January 31
Mr Chircop said he couldn't believe how quick the fire spread after lightning struck out on the other side of the road, directly opposite his home.
"I just headed outside to give the dogs some water and the power flicked, I looked from where I was and I saw what would have been no more than a 5m x 5m circle on fire," Mr Chircop said.
"I rang triple-0 and by the time I got onto them, no more than 30 seconds, it was heading straight to the trees and the house across the road.
"I grabbed the water cart and put it on the area beside the road here and then Anton (Anthony Fleming) and I scooted down the driveway and just soaked the neighbours house with water.
"It took no time to go, by the time I got to the house, the smoke was just horrendous. If the wind had have been blowing the other way, we were gone, there's no doubt about that."
Mr Chircop said the tanks had only been bought in the past couple of weeks.
"It's just lucky we had them, they are just made by one of the neighbours, cost about $900-$1000, we're lucky we've got two of them. It's something I reckon everyone should have."
David Watts said he saw two lightning strikes with one hitting the ground. "I thought the lightning had hit the gate, there was one bang and two flashes and that was it, then it started to spit rain," he said.
"I was worried the wind was coming straight towards where I was, but fortunately the wind turned around."
About 750m of grassland was burned in the fast moving fire. At least one shed and a tractor were destroyed in the blaze as winds briefly gusted up to 93km/h just after 2pm.
Anna Smith she was relieved that her neighbour's house had been saved.
"It's scary, but you can see just how quickly these can move," Ms Smith said.
Peter Bell said his daughters home was also in the path of the fire, but was relieved it had also been saved.
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