A Milang couple are seeking donations of spare or unused household items after a backyard blaze recently destroyed their belongings and threatened their home.
As previously reported in The Southern Argus, the Milang CFS responded to the Milang Lakes Motel at about 2pm on Saturday, October 22, when a canvas tent caught alight before spreading to several other household items.
The fire ignited when a barbecue dinner started by Katherine Mudge and Ben Hall, who reside in a caravan at the back of the motel, turned deadly.
“It was in a fire pit, and a spark just flew up and hit the tree, then spread,” Ms Mudge said.
“It was pretty aggressive (and) there was a lot of panic on our end (because) it was just so close to our caravan.
“Ben grabbed the hose and did what he could… and I called the CFS pretty much straight away; other people did as well.
“It spread so easily; it just went up in a second.”
Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze, but unfortunately, the approximately 10-man canvas tent along with linen, a mattress, vacuum cleaner, wheel barrow, television and chromecast, bicycle, tarps, cat carriers, and a porta potty were lost, leaving an estimated $600-700 in damages.
However, Ms Mudge felt fortunate her home survived.
“We were lucky it wasn’t thousands (of dollars in damage),” she said.
“The caravan’s all we’ve got for a home, (so) if we lost that, we’d be homeless.”
But most of all, Ms Mudge was thankful for the community members who came to the couple’s aid both at the time of the incident and thereafter.
“The help of the community that turned up very quickly is so amazing,” she said.
“(And) the impact of the CFS when they arrived to the fire was immediate.
“The community feeling is overwhelming.”
The couple’s “shocking and sobering” incident is a timely reminder for people to keep a safe distance between any fire and flammable objects.
The CFS advises any barbecue or cooking appliance should be at least four-metres away from flammable vegetation, and for a person to be present at all times.
Donations can be delivered directly to the Milang Lakes Motel or by contacting Katherine Mudge on 0431 205 222 or Ben Hall on 0415 684 232.
